See You Again
by BitterSweetImagination
Summary: "We've come a long way from where we began, Oh I'll tell you all about it when I see you again" She was the last person Joel expected to see. Joel/OC
1. Prologue

It had been a hard day at work, the same fucking assholes from last week came in and Melanie had to put up with their sleazy comments all night until one grabbed her ass, which was a step too far. She punched him hard and knocked him back off of his chair, her boss Chuck had intervened and brought the bat out from under the counter and chased them out, telling them not to come back or he would beat them bad.

"Get yourself home, doll," he had said "Charlene and Daisy can finish up here."

Her fellow waitresses had been sympathetic to her face, telling her them guys were dickheads and she deserved an early night after dealing with them but Melanie knew they would be bitching about her once she left. They both hated the fact that Chuck liked her, gave her good shifts and never gave her a hard time. Chuck and her dad had been best friends since they were young and after her dad died last year of cancer, he had looked out for her. Said it was what Leo would have wanted and Melanie was grateful for that.

Opening the door, she smiled as she seen Sarah asleep on the couch. Since things got serious with Joel and he had introduced her to his daughter, Melanie was relieved when Sarah seemed to like her and also liked having her around– she knew how much Joel loved her and that she would always come first in his life. It had been a couple of months since she moved in and she had honestly never been happier. Sarah and Joel were her family now and she wouldn't have it any other way.

Walking over to Sarah, she gave her a gentle shake and the young girl sleepily looked at her. "Hey, you should be in bed," she whispered and pushed back her blonde hair from her face, "it's getting late."

"I wanted to wait up for dad," Sarah replied, yawning before stretching out on the couch, "I got him a birthday present remember?"

"Fine, we'll stay up and wait for him," Melanie said, unable to say no to Sarah at the best of times, "you don't have school tomorrow so it ain't that bad."

Sarah grinned, "Thanks Mel, how was work?"

"Oh don't ask, it was a shitty night."

Sitting down beside her, Melanie smiled to herself as Sarah cuddled into her and they watched TV. A couple of hours passed and Joel still wasn't home and judging from Sarah's quietness, Melanie guessed she was asleep. She was nearly drifting off herself when she heard the door open quietly and Joel talking on the phone.

"Tommy, I…" Joel made an annoyed noise "Tommy. Tommy listen to me, _he_ is the contractor. He's the contractor, okay? I can't lose this job….I understand…"

Melanie glanced behind her and raised an eyebrow, Joel caught her eye and shook his head a little, "Let's talk about this in the morning, okay?" he said into the phone as Melanie felt Sarah stir and wake up at the sound of her father's voice, "We'll talk about it in the _morning_. Alright, goodnight"

Switching the light on, Melanie gave him a small smile as he kissed her cheek, "Everything okay, 'hun?" she asked and he nodded

"Just Tommy being a moron, same old," Joel sighed and looked at Sarah, "Scoot."

The young girl moved over and gave her dad a smile as he sat inbetween them both, "Fun day at work, huh?" she asked jokingly, raising an eyebrow.

Joel leaned back into the seat and rubbed his temple, "What are you both still doing up?" he asked "It's late."

"Oh crud!" Sarah cursed and scrambled up to look at the clock, "What time is it?"

"It is way past your bedtime," Joel said giving Melanie a disapproving look as Sarah reached down the side of the couch.

"Just wait two minutes before you start a lecture," Melanie said, crossing her legs as she smiled at Sarah, "you'll see."

Sarah grinned "Lucky it's still today," she said in a sing song voice, "today is a _special_ day after all!"

"Hon, please not right now," Joel murmured "I do not have the energy for this."

"Here!" Sarah said excitedly and handed him a box, Melanie gave her a small nod as Joel accepted the box with a curious expression.

"What's this?"

"Your birthday, silly!"

With a loving smile on his face, Joel opened the box and looked touched as he took out the watch. Sarah grinned as she scooted closer to him, "You kept complaining about your broken watch…" she said slowly as she waited for a sign that he liked it, "so I figured, you know…"

"That's a good gift kiddo," Melanie said, admiring the watch as Joel put it on, "now your dad can be _on time_ if we go to the movies."

"That was my thinking too," Sarah laughed and looked back at her dad "so, you like it?"

Fixing it around his wrist, Joel paused before his face turned serious, "Honey, this is…" he sounded a little put off and Melanie seen Sarah's face fall a little.

"What?"

"It's nice but I- I think it's stuck. It isn't-"

Melanie tried not to smile as Sarah worriedly leaned over and grabbed her dad's wrist, "What? No, no, no, no…" she groaned when Joel chuckled and gave him a push "Oh ha, ha."

Joel grinned before giving Sarah a nudge, "Where did you get the money for this?"

"Drugs," Sarah said simply, her eyes back on the TV, "I sell hard-core drugs."

Melanie laughed out loud while Joel shook his head, "Oh good," he said slipping his arm around Melanie's shoulder and pulling her close, "you can start helping me and 'Mel with the mortgage then."

"Pfft. Yeah, you wish."

They sat and watched an old film on the TV and Melanie smiled as Joel's fingers made circles on her back, she relaxed against him and felt the stress of her work-day leave her. He always had that effect on her and it was one of the reasons why she was attracted to him. Once the credits started rolling, Melanie glanced over and smiled softly at Sarah sleeping. "She's out cold," she whispered and sat up as did Joel "you got her?"

"I got her. You get to bed, I'll be up soon."

"Okay."

Melanie headed upstairs as Joel switched off everything downstairs and picked Sarah up in his arms. She smiled as she looked around their room, photos of the three of them and her stuff mixed in with Joel's. The big teddy he had won her at the fair on their first date and the bottle of tequila they had finished when she first moved in with their names and the date scribbled on in black pen.

She got changed into one of Joel's t-shirts and went over to the window, small as the house was, it did have a good view and she took it in. This place was much better than her shitty apartment in the city.

Arms encircled her waist and Melanie smiled as she felt Joel's lips on the back of her neck.

"Y'know…I don't remember getting a present off of you," he said and she turned in his arms and leaned against the dresser, "you forget my birthday or something Mel?"

"As if I could forget," she said slowly running her hands up his chest and smiling as he pressed into her more, "but you might be too…_tired_ for my present," she smirked "it requires some unwrapping."

Joel chuckled as she began to unbutton his shirt, "Seems like you're doing the majority of the unwrapping," he said and groaned slightly as she kissed his exposed chest "I hope you're not just teasing me, woman."

"I'm not teasing," she said as his hands slid lower down her body pulled her against him "I plan to fully carry out this seduction."

"Happy Birthday to me then," Joel chuckled and kissed her hard on the lips.

* * *

When Melanie reached out, all she felt was cold sheets and she blearingly opened her eyes and frowned when she seen the empty bed. Looking at the clock, she seen it was 3am and wondered where the hell Joel was. Sitting up, she listened carefully and heard the TV on downstairs.

Pushing the covers back, Melanie shivered a little and felt the chilly night air on her naked body. Grabbing the clothes that were closest to her, she quickly put on the black leggings and long, grey top and walked to the door. Frowning, Melanie stood in the dark hallway and felt like something was wrong. She didn't know why but her gut was telling her something was amiss. Glancing into Sarah's room, she seen she was still sound asleep and closed her door quietly before making her way downstairs.

"Joel?" she called out softly and her frown deepened at the silence.

The TV was back on and she heard a vibrating and walked over to where her cell phone was charging, there were ten missed calls from Tommy and a load of messages, "What the hell?" she whispered before jumping violently at the sound of the house phone ringing.

Looking around, she sighed impatiently when she seen yet again the phone wasn't sitting charging and began to look for it. It stopped ringing but the red light on the charger said it had been answered and she knew Sarah was up.

Hearing footsteps, she seen a tired Sarah come downstairs and rub her eyes "Where's dad?" she asked "Uncle Tommy just phoned for him."

"I've been wondering myself, sweetie," Melanie replied, looking out the window and seeing her worried expression reflected in the glass.

"-we've received reports that victims afflicted with the infection show signs of increased aggression and-" Melanie felt her heart stop when she turned and began to watch the news, the newswoman was speaking quickly and looked scared as she spoke into the camera.

"That's nearby," Sarah whispered, coming to stand beside Melanie.

As the woman spoke, a fireman came running up "We need to move everybody out of here now!" he said quickly "There's a gas leak! Hey! MOVE!"

Melanie gasped and covered her mouth as the building behind the newswoman burst into flames and suddenly there was only static as they lost signal, "Mel…look!" Sarah whimpered and pointed out the window as the blast could be seen from the house.

"Oh shit!" Melanie whispered and felt Sarah take her hand and she squeezed it back worriedly.

Shouting could be heard from outside and Melanie put an arm around Sarah and quickly headed into the den where Joel kept the gun. She didn't feel safe and didn't know what the hell was going on but she was going to protect Sarah from anything that was out there.

"Come on, honey," she said quickly, hating how scared she sounded as Sarah tensed up.

Before she could reach the desk, she nearly let out a scream when the door opened but felt relieved when she seen Joel came in. "Oh thank fuck you're back," Melanie said but didn't feel reassured when she seen how worried he was, "Joel?"

"Dad, what's going on?"

"You two okay?" Joel asked quickly as he shut the door and began searching the drawers "Has anyone come in here?"

Sarah shook her head but stayed close to Melanie, "No. Who would come in here?"

"Joel, you're scaring Sarah…and me," Melanie said shakingly "What exactly is going on out there?"

But he didn't answer her, "Don't go near the doors. Just…just both of you stand back there!"

"Dad, you're really freaking me out. What's going on?"

Joel shook his head, "It's the Coopers…Somethin' ain't right with 'em. I think they're sick."

"What do you mean sick?" Melanie asked but before Joel could answer, she seen someone slam their body against the glass door out of the corner of her eye. Sarah trembled as the man slammed himself against the door again.

"JIMMY!"

"DAD!"

Joel raised the gun and stood protectively in front of them, "Mel, stay behind me okay! Keep Sarah away!"

"Isn't that Jimmy…?"

The glass door shattered as Jimmy stumbled in, he shouted something unintelligible and got to his feet again. His clothes were bloody and his face smashed up and Melanie froze at the sight of their neighbour. "Jimmy, I am warning you!" Joel shouted, aiming the gun at his head "Stay back!"

"Oh my god!" Melanie cried as Jimmy ran towards him, the gunshot was loud in her ears but she still heard the sickening thud as Jimmy's dead body hit the floor. She stood shocked looking down at the corpse of the kind man who lived next door to them, who had a barbeque every Sunday and always invited them. Now he lay dead in a puddle of blood in their living room.

"Go, go!" Joel urged, pushing them into the kitchen and Melanie seen he was shaking.

Sarah stopped and her eyes were wide as she couldn't look away from Jimmy's body, "You…you shot him," she whispered horrified as her eyes swivelled around to look at her father.

Covering her face, Melanie shook her head and willed this all to be a horrible dream, "This can't be happening," she whispered beginning to pace, "this _can't_ be happening!"

"Sarah-"

"I saw Jimmy this mornin'…"

Putting his hands on his daughter's shoulders, Joel tried to keep his voice steady, "Listen to me, there is something bad going on. We have to get outta here. All of us. Do you understand me?"

"Yeah…yeah, I understand."

Melanie lowered her hands from her face as Joel gently shook her, "Melanie, you ready. We need to leave."

She nodded, her throat closing up on her as she realized this wasn't a nightmare. "Yeah…" she croaked and swallowed hard "How we gettin' out of town?"

Car lights suddenly shone through the window and Joel let out a sigh of relief, "Tommy. C'mon," he took Sarah's hand and pulled her along with him out of the front door with Melanie following close behind.

As soon as they were outside, Tommy got out of his truck and gave them a fearful look, "Where the hell you been?" he asked worriedly "You have any idea what's goin' on out there?"

"I got some notion," Joel replied and held open the back door for Sarah and Melanie. Tommy rolled his eyes but he caught sight of Melanie and his face paled.

"Holy shit. You got blood all over you!"

Melanie felt bile in her throat as she looked down and seen what he said was true. "Oh fuck!" she muttered and shook her head, tears threatening to fall.

"C'mon, baby, get in the back with Sarah," Joel said taking her hand in his and pulling her slightly, "it ain't hers, let's just get out of here."

Pressing her lips together, she nodded and climbed in after Sarah. Immediately holding her close as Tommy and Joel got in the front, "They're saying that half the people in the city have lost their minds," Tommy told Joel who just shook his head.

"Can we just please go?"

But Tommy continued as he climbed into the driver's seat "Some sort of parasite or somethin'. You gonna tell me what happened?"

"Later."

Knowing he wasn't going to get anything else out of his brother, Tommy reversed out of the driveway and gave his niece a weak smile, "Hey, Sarah. How you holdin' up, honey?"

"I'm fine…" Sara replied quietly, still in shock, she held onto Melanie's arms tightly "Can we hear what's on the radio?"

"Yeah, sure thing," Tommy turned the dial but all they heard was white noise and he sighed "No cell phone. No radio. Yeah, we're doin' great. Minute ago, newsman wouldn't shut up."

Letting out a shaky breath, Melanie sniffed "They say anything about somewhere safe to go?" she asked as they drove down the street.

"He said, ah…Army's puttin' up road blocks on the highway," Tommy sounded really worried now, "No gettin' into Travis County."

Melanie felt her heartbeat quicken, "What does that mean?" she asked faintly as they stopped at the crossroads.

"It means we need to get the hell out," Joel said seriously and glanced at the sign thinking quickly, "Take 71."

"71, that's where I'm headed-" Tommy stopped talking as two police cars sped past them, going in the opposite direction.

As soon as the road was clear, they continued driving and Sarah cleared her throat, "Did they…did they say how many are dead?" she asked her Uncle Tommy and he shook his head.

"Probably a lot. Found this one family all mangled inside their house-"

"Tommy!" Joel interrupted him and shook his head "She don't need to hear this!"

"Right…sorry."

A car that was crashed into a tree appeared out of the darkness and Melanie closed her eyes and looked away, making sure Sarah couldn't see it either. "Jesus, how did this happen?" Joel asked and reached behind him to take one of Melanie's hands in his, squeezing it hard as they continued making their way out.

"They got no clue," Tommy answered gravely "but we ain't the only town. At first they were saying it was just like the South. Now they're going on about the East Coast, the West Coast…Holy hell!"

Melanie's eyes widened as she took in the sight of the burning farmhouse and felt her mouth go dry at the sight of the flames devouring the house. "That's Louis' farm," Tommy said weakly as they drove past, the house starting to fall apart "I hope that son of a bitch made it out."

"I'm sure he did," Joel whispered but his voice wasn't convincing at all.

Sarah looked up at Melanie and seemed scared "Are we sick?"

"No, honey…we're not…" Melanie tried to sound reassuring but it just wouldn't come out.

Joel turned and shook his head firmly, "No, of course we're not."

"How do you know but?" Sarah whispered "We could all be sick."

Tommy glanced in the rear-view mirror at Sarah, "They said it's just…ah…people in the city. We're good."

"Didn't Jimmy work in the city?" Melanie asked Joel and he nodded.

"That's right, he did. We're fine Sarah…trust me."

After some time had passed, they came across some people on the side of the road and Tommy slowed down a little, Melanie seen they had children with them and they turned around after hearing the car, "Let's see what they need-"

"What the hell do you think you're doin'?" Joel snapped, pushing his brother hard, "Keep drivin'!"

"They've got kids, Joel…" Melanie said slowly but fell silent at the look he gave her.

"So do we!"

Sarah bit her lip nervously, her eyes on the family "We have room, dad-"

"HEY!" the man shouted waving his arms frantically to get their attention but Joel shook his head and looked at his brother.

"Keep drivin' Tommy."

"HEY! STOP!" Tommy gritted his teeth as he pushed his foot down on the accelerator and Melanie's heart broke as the man continued to shout after the truck, "PLEASE! HELP!"

There was tension as well as silence in the truck and Melanie noticed the glare Tommy gave Joel, "You ain't seen what I seen," Joel said darkly and looked back out of the window, "We need to look out for ourselves now. Someone else'll come along."

"We shoulda helped them," Sarah whispered, and pressed her face against Melanie's arm, "we shoulda."

Flashing lights nearly blinded them as Tommy swerved out of the way of an ambulance speeding by them, racing the other way but Melanie felt her heart stop as they got to the top of the road and seen the miles of cars in front of them, blocking their way out.

"Oh this is bad…" Joel muttered, his eyes flickering over the mass of cars.

Tommy punched the steering wheel as he stopped the car, "Everyone and their mother had the same damn idea!"

"Why don't we just try another…?" Melanie's voice died as the man in the car in front of them got out.

"Hey, what the fuck man? Let's go!" he shouted to the cars in front and didn't see as someone pelted towards him and pushed him on the ground. The three of them watched in horror as he was beaten by the other person as another clambered into the car and began to…_eat_ the children in the back. The screaming echoed in Melanie's ears as she felt like she was going to be sick as she watched the horrific scene unfold in front of her.

The first person looked up from the now dead man, blood dripping from his mouth as he began to head towards the car. "Tommy….TOMMY!" Joel yelled and smacked his brother to snap him out of it, "Get us out of here!"

"Holy shit!" Tommy cursed and quickly put the car into reverse, Melanie and Sarah both screamed as the person slammed against the window but didn't have the chance to do so again as Tommy quickly drove the car forward away from the carnage.

"What the fuck just happened?" Melanie asked shakily, looking between the two men, "Please tell me you saw that too, I didn't just imagine it."

Joel nodded shakingly "Yeah, we saw it…though Christ knows I wish I hadn't."

"Goddamn….GODDAMN!"

"Turn here! Turn here!"

The street in front of them was filled with terrified people and an overturned bus blocking the road, "Come on people. Move!" Tommy whispered, stopping the car as the crowd ran past them.

"What are they runnin' from?" Sarah asked fearfully and Melanie shook her head.

"I don't know, but should we really be headin' in that direction?"

"Only way out, Mel…Tommy, get us outta here!"

But the crowd didn't give them any room to drive through and one even hit off against the bonnet, they got a glimpse of his scared face before he ran off, following the others. "We can't stop here Tommy!" Joel snapped.

"I can't fuckin' drive through 'em, Joel!" Tommy snapped back.

"THEN BACK UP THEN!"

"THEY'RE BEHIND ME TOO!"

Suddenly, the crowd thinned out and Tommy took the opportunity to drive up on the pavement and get by the bus. The road was clear and Melanie just hoped there would be another way out and away from all the madness, they were just nearly out of town when Sarah suddenly froze in her arms.

"LOOK OUT!" she screamed and Melanie only seen the headlights of the other truck plunging into the side when suddenly there was darkness and she blacked out.


	2. Chapter One: Unexpected

Melanie woke in a cold sweat and was gasping for breath as she sat up in the room she had fallen asleep in, running a hand through her now short hair, she got her bearings and tried to calm herself. The last thing she wanted was for Tommy or Maria to be worried: they would know what the nightmare was about.

Looking out the window, she guessed it was nearly dawn and could already hear some of the men getting to work on the dam. They had settled here a while ago, hoping to get the electricity going to help the small community that had grown thanks to Maria and her father, to continue to survive in this harsh world. Melanie was just glad she was here and not elsewhere, she doubted she would have survived this long…

The last twenty years had been hard…

She didn't like to think back when she, Tommy and Joel first came to Boston. The things they all had to do to survive made her feel sick. At first she had blamed Tess for changing Joel, for changing everything but she had just used the other woman as a scapegoat. Melanie hadn't wanted to accept that this was the way of the world now and it drove her and Joel apart.

When Tommy had spoken of the fireflies, she had felt something she hadn't felt in a long time: hope. On the spot, she decided to follow Tommy to find them only Joel wasn't happy about her decision, the argument turned nasty and things were said that shouldn't have been said. Tommy had to intervene after it turned violent.

_"__"I don't ever want to see your god damned face again…"_

Tommy's last words to his brother ran through her head and she felt the small pang of heartache that she always felt when she thought of Joel. Even after all these years, she never quite got over him, memories of their life before stopped her from moving on.

She and Tommy had found the Fireflies but soon they both realized that they weren't the answer they were looking for. That life wasn't as good as Marlene had led them to believe and they had left. For a long time, they just travelled the countryside, watching each other's backs and looking for a place to call home…and after ten months, almost a year of searching – they found it.

A knock on the door brought Melanie out of her thoughts and she smiled weakly at Maria who stood at the door, "Hey, I was wondering where you were," the blonde woman smiled, "breakfast is nearly ready."

"Yeah, I fell asleep after reading one of those damn manuals," Melanie explained, stretching out on the couch she had passed out on, "thought I'd try and help the guys out but it made no sense to me."

"They'd put anyone to sleep," Maria replied, sighing as she leant against the doorframe, "when Tommy gets going with the others about this techno mumbo jumbo, I just hear white noise."

Melanie snorted and pulled on her boots before standing up, "So, think today will be the day?" she asked her friend as they walked out of the small office and into the main building where the others had started gathering for breakfast.

"Tommy seems to think so," Maria said thoughtfully, "it'd be good to have electricity again. Get those showers working? That would be heaven. A nice hot shower."

Nodding, Melanie pouted "I used to love a luxurious bath…candles…bath bombs…the whole works, y'know?"

"Well, you keep an eye out when you're out on a supply run tomorrow," Maria joked "it could happen."

Melanie smiled back and took a seat opposite Tommy who nodded at both of them, "Mornin'," he said kissing Maria's cheek as she sat next to him, "got you both a coffee. Set you up for the long day ahead of us."

"Don't remind me," Melanie muttered adding some sweetener to her black coffee, "I wish I never agreed to help out with the fuckin' damn. I wish Toby never asked me."

Tommy and Maria shared a small smirk, "I don't see why you and Toby just don't get together," Maria said raising an eyebrow, "he's a great guy and also really taken with you."

Melanie rolled her eyes: Maria and Tommy seemed intent on getting her hitched. It didn't help that after their wedding celebrations (and a couple too many beers) she had spent the night with Tony. It hadn't been out of lust or attraction as they seemed to think, but rather out of lonlieness…

"Maria, he is _ten_ years younger than me!"

"And?"

Melanie shook her head, "He's a good guy but sadly not my type. It ain't gonna happen."

"You sure that's the only reason?" Tommy asked, raising an eyebrow and Melanie shot him a warning look.

"Can we just drop it?" she asked in a low voice when she seen the sad looks they both gave her, she felt angry and stood up, "Thanks for the coffee. I'm gonna go get started," she muttered and ignored Maria calling after her.

Sighing, Melanie soon felt guilty for getting angry with them both. She knew they didn't like to see her alone and only wanted her to be happy. Toby was a good guy, sweet, funny and caring. He took a shine to her as soon as they met and she was flattered someone younger liked her that much. But like she had told Maria countless times, he wasn't her type. Sure they could have a laugh at times and he was good in bed from what she could remember but she couldn't sit down and bare her soul to him, tell him why she had nightmares nearly every night and didn't like to help guard the kids.

Most of all, she didn't think she could handle another heartbreak.

Entering the dam, she gave a small smile and nod to Earl who was on guard duty, "Hey, good luck today 'Mel," he said and gave her a cheeky salute, "getting some electricity will make a lot of folks happy."

"Here's hoping, Earl!"

The others were already working away and she sighed inwardly when Toby made a beeline straight for her, "Melanie, glad to have you working with us," he said smiling, most of the women swooned when he smiled but Melanie just nodded, "hopefully you'll be the luck we need to get these babies goin'."

"I'm not that good with damns," she said politely, "I'll leave that to y'all and just keep a look out."

Toby seemed a bit put out but nodded, "At least I know we'll be safe in your hands," he said quietly before putting on a hard-hat and heading back to the others.

Feeling like a total bitch, Melanie reached out and grabbed Toby's arm, "You'll get it going, I know you will," she said smiling softly as she gave him a gentle squeeze.

"Thanks 'Mel, appreciate it," he grinned widely at her before heading back to the others.

Guard watch wasn't that exciting and Melanie walked around the top level mostly where she could see anyone approaching the rear of the dam. There had been a lot of bandit attacks lately and she was determined a sneak attack wouldn't happen on her watch. Glancing down every so often, she smiled as the men all joked amongst themselves as they worked. It was good to see that there was still laughter in the community and wasn't all doom and gloom. Most of that was because of Tommy and Maria, they always managed to lift everyone's spirits.

A few hours passed and Melanie heard someone approach and seen Esther with a gun in her hand. She was a tall, black haired woman who Melanie sort-of got on with. "Hey, you're missing all the excitement," she said raising an eyebrow, "apparently we got some new people at the gates, a guy and his kid."

"And Maria just…let them in?"

"That's the weird thing, she _and_ Tommy let them in. Welcomed them with open arms," she folded her arms "lucky for you, you can go find out. I, however, need to take over watch."

Melanie shook her head, "Don't worry, I'll go see what's going on and tell you all about it."

"You're a doll," Esther said winking at her, "he's quite the looker I hear."

Walking quickly past the others as she headed outside, Melanie wondered who it could possibly be at the gates that Tommy would welcome. Maybe it was an ex-Firefly or Marlene herself just passing through. It certainly wouldn't be his brother, Joel would never leave Boston without good reason…

"When did you learn to ride a horse?"

Melanie froze as she recognized that voice and stunned she walked around the corner and sharply inhaled when she seen Joel standing next to one of the horses, patting it's back. A small girl was with him chatting away to Joel and Maria and she wondered if this was all a dream and she'd wake up in the office.

Slowly approaching, it wasn't until she was a few feet away that Joel noticed her and he fell quiet. He was different looking, more lines on his face, greying hair but he still had those intense hazel eyes that she immediately fell for when they first met.

"Melanie?"

Tommy looked up as did Maria and watched the two of them carefully, the young girl frowned and glanced between Melanie and Joel.

"Joel…" she stopped and let out a shaky breath, "…is…is that _really_ you?"

His gaze stayed on her, almost as if he was afraid he would blink and she would disappear. Nodding, he gave her a weak smile, "Yeah…yeah it is."

The young girl's frown deepened, "I take it you two know each other?" she asked sarcastically.

"You could say that," Tommy chuckled, "maybe we should head inside…have a little talk."

Maria nodded, "Sounds good to me, we can get some food going. That sound good to you, Ellie?"

"Fuck yeah, I am _starving_."

Melanie swallowed hard and averted her eyes, suddenly feeling like she couldn't breathe as the others passed by her. Pausing beside her, Joel's eyes flickered over her face, almost looking concerned.

"Guess you're surprised to see me?" he whispered softly.

She met his gaze again and smiled faintly, "Just a little, Joel, just a little."


	3. Chapter Two: Memories

"Ehm, hello?"

Melanie looked up from her magazine and seen a man standing in the doorway, "Oh, hey. You the handyman Chuck asked for?"

The man came forward and gave her a polite smile, "Yes ma'am, names Joel."

"Tommy not with you?" Charlene asked, frowning a little as she glanced behind Joel, "I thought it was the two of you comin' round."

"Nope, just me. He's on another job today."

Charlene sighed and grabbed her bag off of the bar, "You're on your own sweetie," she shook her head as she walked out of the door, "can't believe I shaved my legs for this."

Snorting, Melanie tried to compose herself as Joel chuckled to himself, "I'm sorry about her," she said rolling her eyes "she's kinda got a thing for your brother as you could probably tell."

"It was kinda obvious," Joel grinned "so what seems to be the problem here?"

"It's the sink in the kitchen," Melanie replied, pointing through to the other room "damn thing either hardly works or you get soaked all of a sudden."

Joel nodded "Well, I'll get my case out of the truck and be with you in a second, ma'am."

"Oh, call me Melanie," she said quickly, giving him a small smile "makes me feel old when you say 'ma'am'."

His eyes flickered over her face and Melanie found herself wishing her hair was in a better state rather than pulled back in a ponytail and she had put some make-up on this morning. When Chuck had asked her to open up for the handyman, she hadn't expected him to be _this_ good-looking. "Well, then…Melanie. Feel free to call me Joel."

…..

Melanie shook her head, coming out of her thoughts as Maria's walkie-talkie went off. "Maria?"

"Yeah. Go ahead Toby."

"We're in the control room. Steve's about to start it back up. Do you wanna come check it out?"

Maria glanced at Melanie and she made a face, "I think I'll survive if I don't go check it out. I'm good."

"Yeah, me too, I'd rather eat with Ellie," Maria said slowly and looked up at Tommy with a hopeful smile.

Shaking his head, he chuckled at his wife, "It's my turn anyway. I'll go."

"I'll come with you," Joel added in and glanced back at Ellie, "go with Maria and Melanie, put some food in you."

But Ellie seemed incredibly reluctant to be separated from him, "Joel!" she muttered, frowning at him slightly.

Maria glanced between them before putting a hand on Ellie's shoulder, "C'mon Ellie. Let's give the boys some space."

"Yeah, don't worry Ellie," Melanie said as Tommy and Joel went through the door "it's incredibly boring, trust me."

Smirking, Maria turned and headed back to the kitchens, "I'm sending Tommy over, Toby," she said into the walkie-talkie, "Stand by."

"Oh…okay, over."

As they walked, Maria raised an eyebrow at Melanie over Ellie's head, "Seemed Toby was kinda put out you weren't heading over too" she pointed out in a casual voice "maybe you should make it up to him-"

"So, Ellie." Melanie interrupted Maria quickly and smiled down at the younger girl, "How old are you?"

"Fourteen," she replied and raised an eyebrow "would it be rude if I asked you _your_ age?"

Melanie laughed quietly "No, it wouldn't be rude. Let's just say I'm _much_ older than you."

"Yeah, that's what Joel said when I asked him what age he was."

She smiled sadly, "Yeah…that sounds like Joel."

They walked into the kitchens and seen it was empty, "So, Ellie what d'ya fancy?" Maria asked as she looked in the cupboards, "Got some…beans? Biscuits, porridge or some salad? Think there's some fish left too..."

Melanie felt a smile grow on her face at the way Ellie carefully thought it over, "You guys seriously have food other than beans?" she said, her eyes lighting up when Maria tossed her a chocolate bar, "Seriously? Chocolate? Oh man!"

"One of the guys found it on a supply run," Maria said snorting as Ellie immediately devoured the chocolate bar, "want another one?"

"If it's goin', yeah."

Maria prepared a little of everything and put the plate down in front of Ellie, "So, how long you and Joel been travelling together?" she asked sitting down next to Melanie.

"Uhm, for a while now," Ellie said carefully, "kinda lost track of time. Been having so much fun killing infected and stuff."

Shaking her head a little, Melanie looked the small girl over "You've been killing?"

"Not at first…then Joel gave me a gun and I've been helping out more," she stopped as she seen the two women widen their eyes at her, "only in emergencies," she added quickly "he's dead serious on me not fighting."

Maria raised an eyebrow and looked impressed, "Not many kids I know can handle a gun."

"Well, I grew up in a military base…at first it was water guns but I upgraded," Ellie joked and then glanced between them both, "So how do you two know Joel? Besides being his sister-in-law."

"Well, personally I don't know him," Maria admitted popping a small tomato into her mouth, "Tommy and I met each other about ten years ago, Melanie knew him from before," she paused before smiling softly "they were actually dating before all this shit happened."

Ellie's eyes widened in surprise, "No way! You were his girlfriend? Joel had a girlfriend?"

"Yeah…I was," Melanie said giving Maria an annoyed look, "but…but things ended between us. A long time ago."

Ellie didn't ask why but instead wanted to know more about her guardian. "What was he like? Was he always this serious?"

"No actually, he was…fun," Melanie said honestly, "he'd always be cracking these corny jokes, taking me to the movies…" she snorted suddenly as she remembered her birthday party, "I even got him to sing karaoke once."

The small girl looked at her in disbelief, "I'm sorry are we talking about the same Joel?" she sighed suddenly and shook her head, "I'd love to see _that_ side of him, rather than this depressed and angry one all the time."

"He's…he's been through a lot," Melanie felt a little pang in her chest as she remembered that night when it all started, "lost people that he loved…"

"Like you?"

Maria shook her head and after a quick glance at Melanie and seeing she wasn't going to say anything, the other woman gave Ellie a sad look "Joel…Joel had a daughter. Her name was Sarah and the night they all tried to get out of Travis County…she was killed. Shot by a soldier. It tore him, as well as Tommy and Melanie, up. He's always blamed himself for it."

"_Fuck_…" Ellie said and then swallowed hard looking at Melanie, "I'm sorry…I didn't mean to bring the mood down."

"Don't worry about it, Ellie…" Melanie replied, rubbing her head a little and hoping there were no tears in her eyes "at least you know why he's…_different_ now."

She kept quiet while Maria changed the subject and began talking about the horses and other things with Ellie. As Melanie glanced out the window at the blue sky, she remembered back when usually she would have been the first one out in the sunshine to try and keep her skin nice and tanned. Before she hated being inside when it was such a gorgeous day…well, there was one day when she didn't mind being inside…..

"Yeah…I can see your problem here," Joel said wiping his hands on an old rag, "don't worry, it'll be easy enough to fix."

Melanie felt relieved, "Thank god, knowing Chuck, it would have taken him forever to get a new sink," she smiled at him as he knelt down to start working, "you want a drink? Tea or coffee…or something?"

"Coffee, thanks."

Filling up the kettle, Melanie got two cups out and paused: she had been ready to make coffee as if it were for her and Chuck, "How do you take it?" she asked.

"Black…just, just black."

"No sugar or anything?" She made a face, "God, I cannot drink coffee without sugar and milk."

Joel accepted the cup off her and gave her a grin, "Don't need sugar when you're as sweet as me."

"Oh you didn't just say that," Melanie said laughing to herself as she leaned against the counter with her own cup, "that's the oldest one in the book."

"Made you laugh," he pointed out and took a drink before turning back to the sink, "so, who was the last person to fix this? They didn't use the right stuff to seal it up."

"Think it was your brother," Melanie said, the phone began to ring and she stood behind Joel as she answered it, "Hello? Chuck…hey, yeah he's here, fixing it as we speak. I don't know, let me check…"

She was about to ask Joel how long he thought he would be, when he suddenly shouted out as water sprayed out from the pipe. Melanie shrieked a little as she became soaked through but was soon laughing at the sight of Joel trying to stop the leak by grabbing it with both hands.

"Damn it, Tommy!" he said through gritted teeth, but laughed when he seen the state of Melanie giggling loudly, "Mind handing me my wrench?"

"I've gotta go, Chuck. I'll call you back," Melanie said quickly, her voice shaking as she tried to control her laughter. Joel quickly got it sorted out and they looked at each other before laughing out loud again.

Melanie looked down to her soaked jeans and white blouse that was now see through, her hair was a mess and she was actually glad she hadn't bothered with make-up. "Well…that was fun," she said, noticing how Joel's t-shirt was now sticking to him, "this happen to you often?"

"No, don't normally give my customers a wet t-shirt show," he said jokingly, standing up and looking around the small kitchen, "sorry about the mess though. I'll help you clean it up."

Waving her hand, Melanie shook her head. "Nah, don't worry about it. It'll take two minutes to mop up," she seen him look her over and hoped she didn't look a right state with the added wetness, "so…sink still easy to fix?"

"I've got the right stuff at home, then this won't happen again," Joel answered and grinned a little, "much to your customer's disappointment."

Melanie smiled back, "Oh they will be _very_ disappointed."

Pausing slightly, Joel glanced down at the sink, "My next job is at six tonight…if you want I can run and get it now, fix the sink in an hour? Or do you have plans?"

"No…no plans," Melanie said quickly and then cleared her throat, "I was just gonna have a lazy day in the sun…but I'll just mop this up while you're away."

"Okay…well," he reached down and got his bag, grabbing the keys out of the front of it, "I'll see you soon. Melanie."

She blushed a little when she realised she had been staring at his chest and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before smiling shyly at him, "See you….Joel."

A loud alarm noise sounded and Melanie got to her feet immediately and got out her gun as did Maria. "What-what's going on?" Ellie asked nervously as she looked around, "What does that noise mean?"

"It's an alarm," Maria said a little worriedly "means we're under attack!"


	4. Chapter Three: Under Attack

"Fuck, how did these guys get the sneak on us?" Melanie muttered as she got out her gun and looked out the door, "I thought we had people on watch?"

"We were meant too!" Maria paused as she reloaded her gun, "Ellie? Ellie, we gotta run so just stay close to me and-"

A gunshot went through the glassless pane of the door and hit the wall opposite them, "SHIT!" Maria pushed Ellie down behind the table while Melanie fired her gun back at the intruders. She hit one in the head, killing him instantly while dodging another's attack.

"He's got a shotgun," Melanie told the others, "and these walls won't give us much cover we need to get out of here!"

"IN THERE! KILL THEM!"

Maria looked around desperately and then caught sight of the serving hatch that led into the proper kitchen, "Through there, Ellie, you need to go through there. We'll cover you!"

The two women stood at the same time and shot at the men trying to get nearer to ensure Ellie was safe but another came running around the corner causing them to duck behind the counter to avoid being shot. "We gotta run!" Maria said urgently "Try to get out of here!"

"I can help!" Ellie was half in the serving hatch and frowned "I can!"

"Get in that kitchen!" Melanie swore loudly as a bullet sliced her arm and fell back against the wall.

Maria's eyes widened, "Shit, did you get hit?" she shot a couple more times before taking cover left, "I think there's one more…can you hold out?"

"Yeah…yeah, it just grazed the skin…I'll be-I'll be..." Melanie tried to stay awake but felt her eyes grow heavy and as Maria and Ellie shouted her name, she felt herself black out…

* * *

_"__So, you pretty much work all the time then?" Melanie asked, holding the flashlight for Joel as he put something around the sink's pipe to stop water from spraying out again._

_"__Bills have to get paid somehow," Joel said casually "not much of a social life but I've got a roof over my head."_

_Melanie hesitated before trying to sound as casual as him, "Don't go out on dates a lot then?" she kept her eyes on the sink, trying to appear interested in what he was doing but could feel his eyes on her._

_"__I make exceptions for the right woman…"_

_Pretty sure she was blushing, Melanie glanced at him and seen he was back to concentrating on his work, "That's…good to know," she said quietly, with a small smile. God, it had been a while since she had flirted. She was rusty at it._

_"__How about you?" he asked, "Pretty young waitress in a bar…you probably have a man asking you out on every shift."_

_"__If they come into this bar, then I probably don't wanna go out with them," she said jokingly, "lot of old truckers and married men with Harleys…the same old."_

_Joel snorted and stood up, turning the tap on again and this time it flowed normally, "I suppose that's not your type then?" he wiped his hands on a rag and smiled at her._

_"__I like my men unmarried and not twenty years older than me," Melanie switched off the flashlight and handed it back to him, "call me picky but I'm like that."_

_She turned around to pick up the phone when Joel's next comment took her by surprise, "So, what do you think of unmarried men…with kids?"_

_"__Depends…the guy would have to be good-looking, funny…" Melanie said, glancing over her shoulder at him, "why…you know someone?"_

_Joel put down the rag and shook his head, "It's been a while since I asked someone out and I thought I could do it all coy and charming but I guess not," he leaned against the counter and gave her a half smile "Melanie, can I take you out for dinner sometime?"_

_"__When were you thinking?" Melanie couldn't help the grin on her face._

_"__When you free?"_

_"__I'm not washing my hair tomorrow night."_

_Grinning, Joel nodded "Well, then…if you give me your number then I shall take you out tomorrow night," his eyes shone when he smiled fully and Melanie could quite happily look at him, "I was thinking Italian."_

_"__Sounds good to me," Melanie grabbed a pen and quickly scribbled down her number on a piece of paper, "give me a call."_

_Taking the note and letting his hand linger over hers, Joel nodded, "You can count on it, ma'am."_

* * *

A sharp slap brought her out of her memory and Melanie hissed in pain as Maria stood over her, "Damn it, Mel…don't do that to me!" she whispered, relieved that she had woken up, "You've lost a shitload of blood."

"I'll be fine…I'll be fine," Melanie said weakly, trying to sit up on her own, "I take it you got the sons of bitches?"

Maria nodded, "Yeah…yeah we got them but there's more out there, I can hear the gunfire…" she looked over to Ellie and sighed "we should maybe wait here and-"

A gunshot behind them made the three of them jump but Melanie felt thankful when she heard Tommy and Joel's voices. Standing, she inhaled sharply as a sharp pain ran up her arm from where the bullet hit her, out of the corner of her eye, she seen Maria run towards Tommy and tenderly look over him for any injuries. Cupping his wife's face, he looked concerned, "You okay?" he asked, then glanced at Melanie as well, "Both of you?"

"Yeah, yeah. We're fine….we're fine," Maria started to say but trailed off as Ellie excitedly spoke to Joel.

"Oh man! Joel! They were coming in from every direction!" she told him waving her arms wildly "Then Maria was like 'We gotta run!'-"

Joel looked impatient as he tried to get her to be quiet, "Ellie, listen to me, are you-"

"-then this huge guy blasts in with a shotgun-"

Melanie smiled a little as she was reminded of Sarah suddenly, explaining to her in great detail about her soccer game championship. "Slow down, slow down, listen," Joel put his hands on Ellie's shoulders and shook her a little so she would look at him, "hey, hey, are you hurt?"

"No."

Watching as Joel then proceeded to look Ellie over for any injuries, Melanie glanced up in time for Tommy to sigh and shake his head. "Goddamnit."

"Tommy, what's wrong?" Maria asked worriedly.

He gave her a tired smile "I've just got some thinking to do is all…let's go see how everyone's doing. You better radio Nancy and tell her to start dinner a bit early. I think everyone could do with a feed."

Maria didn't look like she believed him, but as they walked away, she took out her walkie and Melanie could hear her talking to Nancy about preparing dinner. As she was about to leave herself, she heard Ellie mention her name.

"Shit, Joel, you should have seen Mel shooting! That girl has some aim!" Melanie looked around and seen Ellie grinning at her and Joel with an eyebrow raised.

"Really?"

"Yeah, she did like three kill shots in a row, it was all BANG! BANG! BANG! And they all fell dead!"

Melanie snorted, "Was clever enough to get shot in the arm but," she said and winced as she tried to move it, "I'm gonna go and get this sorted out."

"I can do it if you want," Joel's eyes had an expression in them that Melanie wasn't sure if she wanted to see or not, "not the first time I've had to patch you up."

For a moment she was almost tempted but after glancing at Tommy, she shook her head "I'll go up to the doctor…I'll see you all at dinner," she said to Tommy quietly and left without a backwards look at Joel, confused by what she was feeling.


	5. Chapter Four: A Moment Alone

They had lost a lot of men during the attack and dinner was deadly quiet, save for the sobbing of the women who had lost husbands, brothers, sons and fathers tonight. Melanie stood quietly by the door with her arm bandaged and watched the grieving, eyes softening, she turned away and ran a hand through her hair.

A lot of people were questioning if Joel and Ellie's arrival as the cause for the attack.

She didn't think that was the case, the power plant would be a tempting destination to anyone walking by – the thought of having electricity again was what made Maria and Tommy want to settle here after all. The only question buzzing around in Melanie's mind was why Joel was risking everything for a little girl. She had seen how protective he was over her.

Several thoughts had crossed her mind and she disliked each and every one of them.

Feeling the need for a drink, she walked out of the dining area and headed to Tommy's office, knowing he had a bottle of whiskey in there, opening the door, she was surprised to see him in there. Frowning as he thought and a glass in his hand.

"Looks like we were thinkin' the same thing," he said, grabbing the bottle and pouring her a glass, "we lost a lot of good men today…we'll need to bury them tomorrow – give them a good send-off."

Melanie nodded and sipped the whiskey, relishing in the burning feeling down her throat that reminded her she was alive. "I'm guessing that isn't the only reason that you're in here," she said slowly, sitting down opposite him, "what's going on, Tommy?"

"How long we known each other?"

"Gotta be…oh…about twenty-two or twenty-three years," she made a face as she took a bigger drink "damn, that makes me feel old."

A flicker of a smile crossed his face but he then grew serious again, "And in that time…do you think I made good decisions?"

"What is this about?"

"Just…_please_ answer the question."

Melanie considered him for a moment before looking down and swirling her drink in the glass, "All I know is that if it wasn't you making the decisions…I wouldn't be here right now," she glanced up and seen him looking conflicted "so I trust your judgement, Tommy. Always have and probably always will.."

"Thanks...it's good to know that," he leaned back in his chair and raised an eyebrow, "how you feelin' about Joel being here? With that girl?"

Shifting in her seat, Melanie hoped her expression was neutral, "It's good to know he's alive…I'll say that much."

"No lingering feelings?"

Frowning at him, Melanie finished her drink "Don't start this shit, Tommy…I do_ not_ need this right now."

"Still got it bad, huh?" Tommy shook his head slowly, "I was afraid of that."

"Shut. _Up_!"

Tommy's eyes were serious, "He was asking about you…asking if you've…_been_ with anyone, I think Esther told him about you and Toby…"

"And…and what did _you_ say?" Melanie cringed a little.

"Said it was a onetime thing and you didn't see him like that," he hesitated before sighing, "But I did tell him about that night that you and me…"

Melanie averted her eyes from Tommy, they hadn't spoken about that night since it happened, "You didn't have to do that…it was a long time ago, we were both angry and upset…it didn't mean nothin'-"

"At the time it meant somethin'…" Tommy said honestly, then chuckled at her expression, "don't worry, I ain't in love with you Mel..." he poured himself another drink, "I only told him to hurt him…I ain't proud of it."

Crossing her legs, she looked at Tommy confused, "You two arguing or something?"

"We were…he wants me to take the girl off of his hands."

"And that's what's got you thinking so hard?" Melanie shook her head, "Jesus, Tommy. It's not like we don't have the room. We could take Ellie in no problem."

Sighing, Tommy rubbed his face "Joel wants me to take her to the Fireflies…" he looked at her seriously "she's the cure."

"W-what?" Melanie's eyes widened at his words "She's…_she's_ the cure?"

"According to Joel, she's got a bite mark that's months old and has breathed in plenty of spores without changing," Tommy said slowly, "and I don't think he's lying."

Melanie was quiet as she tried to come to terms that the cure to mankind was sitting in a room eating porridge and telling bad puns. "So…so what are you going to do?" she asked him, "Have you told Maria?"

"Not yet."

Shaking her head, Melanie looked at him sadly, "You _have_ to talk this over with her Tommy…she deserves to know."

"I know, I know…it's just the thought of leaving her…you…and everyone," he downed the rest of his drink and sat up straight in the chair "it's a hell of a long way to the base. You know that, we barely got back alive and that was without a little girl to look after."

Melanie tried not to think about that dark time, "Get some sleep," she said giving him a weak smile, "you aren't gonna come to a decision tonight and it's been a hell of a day."

"You're right…as always," Tommy stood up and walked behind her out of the office, "if I decide to go…I need you to help Maria run this place," he said seriously "and…and look out for her."

A thought crossed her mind and she looked up at him, "I'll see you in the morning," she said and smiled "you'll make the right choice, I know you will."

"Here's hoping," Tommy squeezed her arm before passing her, "better hit the hay, be morning before I know it."

She watched him go down the dimly lit hallway and Melanie sighed, rubbing her eyes tiredly. She couldn't go back into the dining room, not with all the tension and mourning, it was too fucking depressing and she had had enough of that for a lifetime.

Walking up the stairs, she headed for the roof and seen a bandaged up Earl keeping watch, "How long you been up here?" she asked him as he turned to wave at her.

"Too fuckin' long," the older man said wincing as he moved his leg, "but someone had to do it."

Rolling her eyes, she held her hand out for the gun, "Come on, you're in worse shape than me. I'll take over."

"Really?"

"Truly."

Earl grinned before he handed her the gun and slowly got to his feet, "You're an angel, Melanie," he said heading down the stairs, "I hope you know that."

"Yeah…so I've been told," she whispered and sat down on the chair and watched the woods like a hawk.

She had been concentrating so hard on keeping watch that she didn't hear someone come up behind her and jumped violently when there was a hand suddenly on her shoulder, "Shit, sorry…I thought you heard me."

"Joel…what are you doing still up," Melanie glanced behind him, "Where's Ellie?"

"Maria found her somewhere to bunk," Joel said sitting down in the other chair "I couldn't sleep so she asked me to keep watch with Earl."

Feeling slightly uncomfortable at being so near to him, Melanie kept her eyes on the woods "I've got it covered…you don't have to stay."

"It's fine…I wanna help."

The silence was tense between them and Melanie desperately thought of something to say, "So…how've you been?" Joel finally asked, "Been a long time since I've seen you…we didn't exactly say goodbye in the best way."

_"__You're a fucking monster now Joel! I don't even know who you are anymore!"_

_"__I'm the one fucking keeping us alive! If Tess and I didn't do these shitty jobs then-"_

_"__Do __**not**__ mention her fucking name to me!"_

Melanie tried to block out the bad memories "I'm…I'm okay," she said softly "it's a good thing Maria and Tommy have going here."

"I'm glad…you both deserve to be happy," Joel's tone was dry and Melanie glanced over and seen his jaw tighten.

"We're not together, Joel…" she said quietly "it was one night and that's all. He's with Maria and I'm…well, I'm just happy to be alive."

His eyes flickered to her before looking down at his hands, "I can't say it didn't…_hurt_ hearing about you two," he said then snorted "but who the hell am I to judge…it's not like we were together when it happened. I have no right to say anything."

A few more minutes of silence passed before Melanie turned to him, "I'm surprised that Tess isn't here with you," she said, then noticed him looking away, "you two were practically joined at the hip."

"Still jealous of her, I see."

Melanie felt herself bristle at his words, "It wasn't jealousy, I _hated_ how she changed you," she tried to bite her tongue but the words still came "and how happily you went along with it."

"Well, you'll be happy to know she's dead then," Joel snapped bitterly, "does that make you feel better?"

Stunned, she sighed and felt like a massive bitch "…I'm-I'm sorry Joel-"

"She got bit…and got gunned down by the military while Ellie and I got out," Joel exhaled heavily "I'm sorry I snapped…I just don't like talking about it."

Biting her lip, Melanie put her hand on top of his and squeezed it gently "I'm sorry…I know you two were close."

"Thanks."

She removed her hand quickly and gripped the gun hard with both hands, "So, what's with the girl?" she asked curiously, "Must be a good reason for you to leave the city…" _You never left for me_ she mentally added.

Joel seemed to guess what she was thinking and gave her a serious look, "Ellie's the cure…don't ask me how but…but she is," he ran a hand through his greying hair, "I made a promise to Tess I'd get her to the Fireflies and I don't plan on breaking that promise."

"Was she born with it?" Joel frowned at her words, "Or did you notice this when she got a bit older?"

"How the hell would I know, I only met her a few months ago."

Melanie's eyes widened "So you're not…" she didn't finish her sentence but it didn't matter, Joel's expression softened.

"Ellie ain't my daughter, Melanie."

Feeling like a total fool, Melanie avoided his gaze "You can understand why I thought that," she said defensively "she's fourteen, I haven't seen you in nearly twenty years…how was I to know you didn't move on."

"Be kinda hard to move on," he said softly "after Sarah…and you…I wasn't planning on getting close to anyone anytime soon."

Melanie slowly lifted her gaze and met his eyes, "I guess it would be," she said quietly "for what it's worth Joel…I may have _been_ with other men," she paused before sighing "but it was out of loneliness…it didn't mean anything to me."

Joel's eyes softened as he leaned towards her slightly "…Mel…" he whispered but a look crossed his face and he stood up suddenly, the moment was gone "I'm gonna turn in…got a long journey tomorrow, either way…"

Feeling a lump in her throat, Melanie nodded "Night Joel…"

"Night."


	6. Chapter Five: Decisions

"You look like shit."

Melanie lifted her head from her hand and smiled weakly at Maria who stood in front of her, "I hardly slept last night…I was thinking."

"Always a dangerous sign," Maria joked and sat down opposite her, "What were you thinking about?"

She opened her mouth but closed it again, "Nothing serious…don't worry about it," she said dismissively but Maria raised an eyebrow.

"Is it about Joel?"

Melanie simply nodded.

Sighing, Maria gave her a sympathetic look, "I'm sorry, sweetie…it must be hellish seeing him again after all these years. You must be confused."

"I was, yeah. Anyway, what are you up too today?" Melanie asked, wondering if Tommy was going to speak to her this morning and if he had come to a decision.

Rolling her eyes, Maria shook her head, "Tommy wanted me to come find him, said he's got something important to talk to me about," she said "knowing him, he'll wanna go out hunting for a week or something and he knows I won't like."

"Yeah…that'll probably be it," Melanie said a little uncomfortably, knowing Maria was _definitely_ not going to like what he was going to say. And it would be longer than a week that he was gone.

"Well, I'd better go see what he wants. I just wanted to check on you, see how you were doing," Maria smiled a little "can't have my partner in crime feelin' down, can I?"

"Definitely not," Melanie bit her lip as Maria got up to leave and stood quickly "Maria? You…you know I love you right? You're like a sister to me. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Frowning a little, Maria nodded "Yeah, I know Mel…I feel the same. What's brought this on?"

"Just…just wanted you to know…." Melanie said faintly, "after last night, I just felt like I should tell you. Never know when you're times up these days after all."

Snorting, Maria shook her head "You're so mushy," she said smiling again and walked outside the door.

Running a hand through her hair, Melanie decided to go outside and get some air, she had a big decision to make and she still hadn't made a choice. Walking over to the horses, she smiled as Nellie whinnied softly and pricked her ears up.

"Hey, girl," she whispered and stroked her neck "hope you haven't been throwing anyone off your back recently."

The horse was known for being skittish, earning her the nickname 'Nervous Nellie' only Melanie and Esther had bothered to gain the horse's trust and for that, they two were the only ones who could ride her. Giving the horse one more final pat, Melanie turned as raised voices could be heard from behind her.

"Are you _fucking_ serious?"

It sounded as if Tommy had told Maria, sighing, she walked forward and was going to intervene if it turned bad when she seen Joel watching the argument almost guiltily.

Crossing her arms, she came to a stop beside him and raised an eyebrow, "You made the boss angry," she muttered, "I'd be scared if I were you."

"Don't worry I am," Joel replied, his eyes still on Tommy, "she comes at me, I'm not ashamed to say I'm gonna make a run for it."

Maria seemed to get angrier by the second, despite Tommy's attempts to calm her. "You tell _him_ to go find somebody else!"

"…I can't have this hanging over my head, Maria."

Melanie let out another sigh, she couldn't let Tommy go out there…not with Maria here and everyone else depending on him. She would never forgive herself if something happened to him.

"Do you have _any_ idea how many men we lost last night?"

There were footsteps behind them and Melanie glanced over her shoulder to see Ellie standing and looking confused at the argument, "Hey – what's all that about?"

Looking at Joel as she decided to not get entangled in Joel and Ellie's drama, Melanie felt slightly annoyed when he just shook his head, not giving Ellie a proper answer.

"Does that have anything to do with me?"

"We'll talk about it later," Joel muttered but Ellie gave him a small frown.

"Did he at least tell you where the lab is?"

Joel narrowed his eyes at the young girl, "We'll talk about it _later_."

"Later…whatever…" Ellie gave him a dirty look before walking off and Melanie watched her go sadly.

Pressing her lips together, Melanie made a silent promise to herself not to get involved but Joel looked up at her and seemed to guess what she was thinking, as he always did.

"Let me guess, you think I could have handled that better."

Melanie shrugged, "None of my business at the end of the day…but I will say she deserves to know who'll be watching out for her if it isn't you."

"Right…"

"It takes one. _One_ fuck up," Maria pushed Tommy away from her, but Melanie could see the pain in her eyes, "One fuck up and then I turn into one of those widows. Okay?"

"I have to do this…"

"No you don't!"

Making up her mind, there and then, Melanie walked forward and shook her head "She's right, Tommy, you don't have to do this," she said quietly.

"_Thank you_ Mel," Maria said exasperated, "finally, someone who agrees with me."

"Melanie, this could be the _cure_ for all mankind," Tommy said sighing, "I'm the only one who can do this-"

"You're not the only one who knows where the Fireflies are," Melanie interrupted firmly.

Maria and Tommy looked at her stunned but it was Joel who broke the silence. "No," he said shaking his head as he came to stand next to her, "not you, no."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Maria said, turning to Melanie angrily, "Do you honestly think we're gonna let you go out there?"

Tommy fixed her with a glare "No way in hell," he snapped "you are _not_ doing this."

"If someone has to go on this crazy mission, it should be the person with nothing to lose," Melanie said softly "you know I'm right about this Tommy, I know the road like the back of my hand. I can do this."

"It's not a question of whether or not you can do this," Tommy argued, "I'm not sending you out on a suicide mission, you're family and I'm not losing anyone else."

Melanie seen Joel avert his eyes and she knew he was thinking about Sarah, "Tommy, we need you here along with Maria to keep this community going," she said trying to get him to understand "without you two, everything goes to shit…I'm expendable. It's the truth," she added quickly when Maria looked enraged at her words, "and with or without your blessing, I'm gonna get Ellie to the Fireflies."

"Y'know sometimes, I wish you weren't a stubborn bitch," Tommy muttered and ran a hand through his hair after a moment of silence "fine…fine, you take the girl."

Maria seemed ready to explode and narrowed her eyes at Joel who was giving his brother a look of utmost disbelief, "You," she said angrily, pointing a finger at Joel's face, "if anything…_anything_ at all happens to her…I'll find you and put a bullet in your head myself!"

"Yes ma'am," Joel said quietly, his eyes on Melanie with a hint of worry.

"I'll be home before you know it," Melanie said, trying to give them a reassuring smile, "I'll just need some supplies and we can start heading out," glancing at Joel, she raised an eyebrow questioningly, "if that's alright with you?"

Looking conflicted, Joel nodded slowly, "I need to talk to Ellie, first."

"I'll go get you some supplies," Maria said, her voice thick suddenly and she began to walk away without looking at Melanie.

Watching her friend go, Melanie sighed and even though she knew it was the right decision, she couldn't help but feel terrible at leaving the camp. Tommy's radio crackled and he walked off to answer it, leaving Joel and Melanie alone.

"I'll keep her safe," Melanie promised, folding her arms "we'll get there in one piece."

Joel's eyes softened a little, "You didn't have to do this," he said, his eyes flickering over her face "I didn't want it this way…"

"Life doesn't always work out the way you planned, Joel," Melanie joked then became serious as she asked the question she didn't want to ask, "so…where will you go?"

Before he could answer, Tommy came over looking grave, "Joel! That girl of yours, she took one of our horses and rode off," he said grimly.

"Damn it!" Joel cursed and began to follow Tommy towards the horses, "Which way?"

"There'll be tracks to follow, I'm sure of it," as he took the reins of the horse in his hand, Melanie grabbed them off of him, "Mel, don't even bother-"

Melanie gave him a look which silenced him, "Maria is gonna need you now more than ever, so you're gonna stay here," she pointed out, "I've been out in these woods more than you. I know the area so it makes sense for _me_ to go…plus 'Nervous Nellie' doesn't like you," she added "so there's another reason."

"I really hate it when you're right," Tommy sighed and then reached into his holster and handed her his gun, "be fuckin' careful out there, you hear?"

Melanie nodded, "Always am Tommy," he helped her into the saddle and she looked at Joel, "Let's go get that girl of yours."


	7. Chapter Six: Lost and Found

_"__So…what's the plan now?" Melanie asked Tommy as he passed her a beer._

_He shrugged sitting next to her on the couch, after leaving the Firefly base, they had taken refuge in an abandoned house. "I've no fuckin' clue, Mel…best thing we can do right now is drink these beers and worry about it in the morning."_

_"__Of all the things to take from the Fireflies," Melanie snorted as Tommy moved the crate of beer onto the table in front of them for easier access, "you go and take alcohol."_

_Tommy grinned, "You say it like it's a bad thing."_

_"__I wasn't complaining."_

_Tommy smiled at her before lifting the bottle to his lips, "Y'know…I really thought the Fireflies were gonna help make the world better. Turns out they weren't any better than the damn military, Marlene talks some shit, don't she? Can't believe I fell for it."_

_"__Hey, she convinced me too," Melanie said sadly, "they're so determined to find a cure that they'll sacrifice anyone to get it. I don't want to get by ruining people's lives…it's why we left Boston after all…" she trailed off, not wanting to relive her time there._

_Sighing, she downed the rest of her beer and took out another one, "Careful…you don't wanna be pissed out of your head if any clickers come by," Tommy joked but he also looked concerned for her._

_"__Tommy, when was the last time we just sat and had a drink together?" Melanie asked him, lying back on the couch and putting her feet over his lap, "You know, just be fuckin' normal human beings and relax?"_

_"__Christ…I can't even remember doing that in the past six years…" he whispered and finished the rest of his beer, "fuck it, let's get these beers drunk. Never know when we're gonna get another chance like this."_

_Melanie grinned as he tapped his bottle against hers, "Now you're speaking my language."_

_"__Shame we don't have cards or something to keep us entertained," Tommy said, leaning his head against the back of the couch while resting his hands on Melanie's legs._

_Grinning to herself, Melanie sat up and dug around in her pack before pulling out a small pack of cards with an elastic band around them, "It's like I knew this was gonna happen," she said laughing a little at Tommy's surprised face, "well, why don't you deal and we'll see if you can beat me this time."_

_"__I always beat you Mel," Tommy snorted, as he began to shuffle the cards "you have a shit poker face."_

_She didn't know if it was the lack of drinking over the years or being so tired already but Melanie felt the alcohol hit her "Just as well it isn't strip poker," she said coyly._

_"__More's the pity," Tommy said quietly and gave her a small grin._

"Look. There, by the ranch," Melanie pointed out, seeing the horse standing outside, "told you she wouldn't have gotten far."

Joel nodded "Thank Christ," he muttered as the horses slowed to a walk, making their way to the house, "at least she didn't keep going."

They had been more or less silent for the whole journey and Melanie glanced at him curiously "So, you never did answer my question," she reminded him, "where will you go?"

"To be honest…I never thought that far ahead," Joel said honestly "I wouldn't go back to Boston, not after me and Tess killed Robert, I don't think I'd be welcomed back with open arms…and I'd end up killing Bill if I was stuck in that town with him. So, I don't have a clue."

Swallowing hard, Melanie glanced around the ranch pretending to be scanning the area when really she didn't want to look at him, "I'm sure Tommy would let you stay at the plant," she said casually, "you are his brother after all."

"I don't think being around Maria while you're gone with Ellie would be a good idea," he said raising an eyebrow at her "she might just make good on that promise to put a bullet in my head."

Melanie smiled weakly "Yeah, you might just be right about that."

They stopped the horses at the door and secured the reins to the porch, Joel didn't waste any time and hurried to the door and pushed it open.

"Ellie?" he called out, glancing around the bottom floor almost worriedly.

Looking around the abandoned house, Melanie felt panic when there was no answer, "Ellie!" she shouted, walking into the kitchen and looking out the window, "You here?"

"ELLIE!"

"I'm up here," letting out a sigh of relief, Melanie got to the hall at the same time as Joel who shook his head.

"Jesus Christ," he muttered, "I'm gonna kill her."

Melanie put a hand on his arm to stop him, "Just…just take it easy on her, okay?" she said softly "Ellie isn't a grown up just yet Joel, she's still a kid. You gotta remember that."

"I know…I know…still doesn't mean she runs out on me – _us - _ like that," Joel added quickly, "you comin'?"

Shaking her head, Melanie patted her gun "You two need some privacy, I'll keep an eye out down here-"

"I think it'd be better if you come," Joel interrupted, "we tend to argue otherwise and you might need to play referee."

"Wouldn't be the first time," Melanie sighed and waved her hand, "lead the way."

Ellie had taken refuge in a teenage girl's bedroom, when Melanie entered the room she was glad to see the younger girl wasn't any worse for wear and gave her a soft smile as she and Joel walked into the room.

"Is this really all you had to worry about?" Ellie asked Melanie, not acting as if she had ran off at all and Melanie seen Joel's eye twitch in anger, "Boys. Movies. Deciding which shirt goes with which skirt."

"It was harder than it sounds, trust me," Melanie tried to joke but stopped talking when Joel glared at her.

"It's bizarre," she murmured, looking back down at the journal in her hands.

Joel shook his head at her, "Get up, we're leaving," he said impatiently, holding the door open, "C'mon."

"And if I say no?" Ellie challenged him, not moving from her spot.

He narrowed his eyes at her, "Do you even realise what your life means?" Joel asked her angrily "Huh? Running off like that. Putting yourself at risk…it's pretty goddamn _stupid_."

"I think what Joel _means_ to ask," Melanie said, shooting him an annoyed look, "is why you ran off like you did? He was…worried. We all were."

Ellie snorted, "No, he _does_ mean to sound like a jackass," she glared at her guardian "I guess we're both disappointed with each other then."

"What do you want from me?"

"Admit that you wanted to get rid of me the whole time!" Ellie said heatedly, but there was a hurt look in her eyes.

Joel was quiet and Melanie could see he was having an inner conflict with himself, "Melanie knows this area better than me-"

"_Fuck_ that!" Ellie whispered and quickly wiped her eyes as she stood quickly.

Melanie opened her mouth to intervene but Joel stepped forward "Well, I'm sorry. I trust her better than I trust myself, what more do you want from me?"

"Stop with the bullshit, Joel," Ellie snapped "What are you so afraid of? That I'm gonna end up like Sam? I can't get infected! I can take care of myself!"

"How many close calls have we had?" Joel argued, frowning at her, "Tell me, how many?"

"Well, we seem to be doing alright so far."

"And now you'll be doing _even_ better with Melanie!"

Turning slightly, Melanie seen Joel turn his back on Ellie and sigh heavily while Ellie looked at him sadly although her heart began to thud in her chest at Ellie's next words.

"I'm not her, you know…"

Shaking his head, Joel looked back at her confused, "What?" he asked, "Who the hell are you talking about?"

"Ellie, _not_ a good time," Melanie warned but she ignored her.

"Maria told me about Sarah. And I-"

"Ellie!" Joel tried to control himself but there was pain written across his face "You are treading on some _mighty_ thin ice here."

Flinching a little at his tone, Ellie hesitated but kept talking "I'm sorry about your daughter, Joel but I have lost people too."

"You have _no_ idea what loss is," Joel said, his voice dangerously soft.

"Everyone I have cared for has either died or left me," she said, her voice hitching in her throat a little before she glared suddenly at Joel, "Everyone! Fucking except from you! So _don't_ tell me that I would be safer with someone else – because the truth is I would just be more scared."

Melanie held their breath as the other two looked at each other, it seemed like an age before Joel broke the silence, "You're right…" he said in a strained voice, "You're _not_ my daughter and I sure as hell ain't your dad…and we are going our separate ways."

"Fine…" Ellie whispered and sniffed loudly "you can fuck off now, since that's what you wanna do so badly."

Movement caught her eye and Melanie swore under her breath as she seen men with guns approaching the house, "I wouldn't do that just yet," she whispered, backing away from the window, "we got company."

_"__And I win again," Melanie said giggling a little as Tommy threw down his cards onto the table._

_He shook his head in disbelief, "How did you get so good at this while being a Firefly?" he asked "Just as well we weren't playing for money."_

_"__What can I say, it got boring on watch and Joe was more than happy to teach me," Melanie shrugged "and now look what it's got me, all these amazing and valuable bottle tops."_

_Tommy chuckled as they sat back against the couch, he glanced over at the window they had covered "Probably got a few hours until sunrise," he said rubbing his face "we should get some sleep."_

_"__So where are we gonna go?" Melanie asked him, her eyes on his as he turned to look at her "The whole worlds our oyster."_

_He shrugged and his eyes flickered over her face "Like I said, I've no fuckin' clue…how about you, Mel? What would your plan be?"_

_"__Well, find more beer for starters," Melanie smiled faintly as she leaned against the couch, sitting close to Tommy "then maybe some painkillers for the hangover tomorrow but that's as far as I got."_

_"__I like the way you think," Tommy hesitated before sighing and averting his eyes "I'm sorry…I dragged you along to the Fireflies thinking it would be a better life and now we've nowhere to go. This is my fault."_

_Melanie shook her head and put her hand over his, "You hardly dragged me along, Tommy," she said quietly "I believed in the Fireflies too…it's not your fault they weren't what they seemed. Don't beat yourself up over it," she stopped before slipping her fingers through his and smiling "I'm glad I'm with you."_

_"__How many beers you had?" Tommy asked jokingly but he squeezed her hand back gratefully, "It's good to hear you say that…I know you've been hurting since Boston," he gave her a concerned look, "I know you miss him."_

_Thinking about Joel hurt and Melanie shook her head, "I miss the person I fell in love with," she whispered "before everything went to shit, I miss __**that**__ Joel but I do not miss who he has become," she shivered a little "the things he and Tess did…the things that __**we**__ had to do…I won't miss that at all."_

_"__Tell me about it, they'll be giving me nightmares for the rest of my life," Tommy muttered and he looked down at their hands and slowly stroked her hand with his thumb, "I'm glad you're with me, Mel…" _

_Melanie noticed how close he was and gave him a small smile "I'm glad you're with me too, Tommy," she whispered, "I like how safe I feel with you."_

_His eyes were intense as they looked at her and then her lips, "That's good to know…" he replied and he turned towards her and she felt his other hand slowly slip across her stomach and stop at her hip, "I want you…to feel safe with me."_

_Tommy's lips were soft against hers and Melanie let out a small moan as he gripped her tightly and deepened the kiss, "We can stop if you want?" he murmured, still holding onto her._

_Biting her lip, Melanie straightened up and just as Tommy sighed heavily, she leant over and straddled Tommy's waist, "That's the last thing I want," she replied softly and kissed him hard again. _


	8. Chapter Seven: Setting Out

_"__I think this will go down as the worst date in history."_

_Melanie giggled as they sat on the picnic bench and ate their Chinese takeaway. Joel had reserved them a table at an Italian restaurant but whoever had taken the call forgot to put it in the book and they had arrived to a full restaurant and no table. Instead, they were sitting at a picnic bench and eating their take out under a sky full of stars, it wasn't the night she had imagined but it wasn't terrible either. She had been so excited when he had phoned and asked her out on a date. Charlene and Daisy had helped her pick out an outfit and done her hair and make-up._

_"__He'll be speechless when he sees you sweetie," Daisy had gushed "You look freakin' gorgeous!"_

_Joel had been speechless, his eyes flickered down her black dress that hugged her curves down to her high heels and she had blushed at the look in his eyes. He looked incredibly handsome with his grey shirt and black jeans._

_"__Don't be so dramatic," Melanie said, sipping from the bottle of wine they had bought and decided to share, "I'm enjoying myself."_

_"__You don't have to say that to try and make me feel better."_

_She shook her head and waved her hand at their surroundings, "We've got a sky full of stars, good food and booze…plus we're completely alone up here, no annoying people having loud, pointless conversations near us," Melanie pointed out giving him a smile, "I would call this a success."_

_"__Well, when you put it like that, it don't sound too bad," Joel chuckled, he rooted around in the take-out bag and handed her a fortune cookie, "Here, see what yours says."_

_Cracking the cookie open, Melanie found the small piece of paper and smiled at the words upon it, "The one you love…is closer than you think," she said out-loud, looking up at Joel with a smile, "ooh…spooky. Wonder where he is?"_

_"__You're so funny," Joel said sarcastically and opened up his and grinned "You will be rewarded for your efforts…wonder what my reward is."_

_Melanie blushed and took another drink of wine, "Suppose you'll just need to wait and find out, won't you?" she said coyly._

_"__I can't wait."_

"Just as well I came along," Tommy said leaning against the porch as Melanie tended to another wound on her arm, "you two just seem to attract trouble."

Joel snorted, "Don't I know it," he glanced over at Ellie who was looking out sadly at the horses "don't I just know it…"

"Thanks for bringing along some supplies," Melanie said quietly, noticing the look on Joel's face "it's gonna be a long journey so they'll come in handy."

Looking at her seriously, Tommy sighed "You still sure about this?" he asked slightly concerned, "You don't have to be the one to take the girl to the Fireflies…I can do it."

"And leave Maria?" Melanie shook her head as she pulled her black jumper back on, "I can't do that to my best friend, Tommy, she needs you."

"She needs you too."

Smiling softly, Melanie put a hand on his arm, "I'll be back before you know it," she said reassuringly "I've got luck on my side, remember?"

"So, where will you go brother?" Tommy asked, glancing at the other man as he shouldered his pack "Back to Boston?"

Joel shook his head, "Ain't nothin' but bad memories for me there," he thought for a moment, "but I've got a rough idea of my next move."

His eyes flickered to Melanie and she seen a deep emotion in them and wondered what his next move was. It was strange to think that even after twenty years apart, he still could make her heart stop when he looked at her with those eyes. It hurt too much to think about living life without him again and she averted her eyes and quickly wiped them. She needed to get a grip. She and Ellie had a long and dangerous road ahead of them.

"Well, you can come back to the plant tonight and head out in the morning…if that's what you want," Tommy added, giving his brother a small smile, "be good to catch the breeze with you properly before you go."

Melanie glanced over at Ellie who had begun heading over to join them, "We'll come too," she suggested, "let you and Ellie say goodbye."

"Thought we already said goodbye," Ellie muttered, folding her arms and refusing to look at Joel.

"Ellie-"

Melanie shook her head, "We'll need to take back a horse," she said "you and me are light. We'll be able to share one."

"You're the boss," Ellie said and then looked over at the horse she had ran away with, "can we take mine? I've kinda got attached to him?"

"Sure thing."

Melanie walked over to her horse and with a helping hand from Tommy, she got into the saddle and took the reins.

"You want a hand up?" Tommy asked the young girl and she shook her head.

"No thanks, I got it."

There was a strange look in Joel's eyes as Tommy led them back to the plant, slowing her horse down to a walk, Melanie glanced at him and raised an eyebrow. "You were kinda harsh on her before," she said softly, looking ahead at Ellie who was talking to Tommy, "I hope you're gonna apologize before you clear off."

"If she even talks to me," Joel muttered, tightening his grip on the reins, "I just…I just seen red when she mentioned…_Sarah_."

"I can understand but…you can't take it out on her," Melanie whispered, "she's gone through shitty times too. We all have."

Joel looked at her and shook his head, "I don't know how I got through all these years without you," he said quietly, "no one else tells me when I'm being an asshole."

"I doubt that," Melanie joked, smiling weakly and he chuckled at her comment, "just remember, she may act like a grown up but she's still a kid."

"You're right, you're right," Joel paused "I'm glad she's with you…you'll treat her right, keep her safe."

Nodding, Melanie looked ahead at the younger girl "I'll try to do as good a job as you have."

"I know you will."

The four of them continued on in silence, the sky had darkened a little and it looked to be a beautiful sunset. Melanie couldn't help but grin as widely as Tommy when the lit up town came into view, "There she is," Tommy said happily, "Kids will be watching' movies tonight."

"Well, I'm jealous," Ellie sighed, "I've not watched a movie in years!"

"Hopefully the Fireflies will have movies for you," Melanie pointed out "they had electricity when we left."

"Here's hoping."

Tommy chuckled as he shook his head, "Yeah, you might get lucky," he hesitated before looking at Melanie seriously "make sure your luck doesn't run out. I'm expecting you back."

"I will be…I'll be able to have a hot shower now that we have electricity," she grinned, "think I'm gonna miss out on that?"

"That's true," Tommy looked at Ellie "take care of her?"

Ellie smiled at Melanie before nodding at Tommy, "Don't worry I will, we girls need to stick together."

"Where is this lab of theirs again?"

Looking surprised at his brother's question, Tommy frowned a little "It's all the way out – University of Eastern Colorado."

"Go Big Horns," he paused for a while before turning to Melanie, "get off your horse. Give it on back to Tommy."

Melanie frowned, "Joel, what are you…" she stopped when he smiled a little, "…oh."

The other two looked confused as Melanie got off the horse and handed the reins back to a confused Tommy, "Take care of Maria for me," she said, squeezing his hand.

"We're gonna hang onto these two fella's…if that's alright with you?" Joel asked, raising an eyebrow at Tommy.

Narrowing his eyes at Joel, Tommy shook his head "What are you doing?"

"Your wife kinda scares me," Joel admitted, as Melanie got on Ellie's horse, sitting behind the young girl, "and I don't doubt that if something happened to Mel, then she would make good on her promise. I don't want her coming after me so…I'm gonna tag along with these two and make sure nothing happens."

Tommy looked worried as he realized that Melanie was still leaving even though Joel was going to the Fireflies now, "Look, let's all go back to town. Discuss this at least."

"You know me, Tommy," Melanie said smiling at him "I'm a stubborn bitch when I make up my mind. Least I'm not as bad as your brother."

"Eh, you know me. My minds all made up," Joel added, shrugging a little before nodding at his brother, "You take care of that wife of yours."

Tommy smiled faintly, "As long as you take care of those girls."

"I will."

Both brothers looked at each other and Tommy sighed, "There's a place for you here, you know," he said quietly, his eyes sincere.

Joel nodded, unable to say the words and Tommy returned the nod with one of his own, before turning to Ellie and Melanie, "You girls good?"

"We're good," Ellie smiled, glancing behind at Melanie with a grin on her face "right?"

"Right," Melanie gave Tommy a wink, "Don't miss me too much you hear?"

Tommy chuckled, "I'll try my dandiest not too."

"Sorry for stealing your horse," Ellie said a little awkwardly "I'll take good care of him don't worry."

Nodding at her, Tommy looked to Joel "See you when I see you, brother."

"Adios, little brother."

_Melanie smiled as Joel opened her door for her and held out a hand to help her out, "Such a gentleman," she smiled as he shut the door behind her "can I expect this treatment all the time, then?"_

_"__Play your cards right," Joel said, not letting go of her hand as they walked up to her front door "I'm sorry you got all dressed up for nothing…next time, hopefully, we'll actually be able to sit in the restaurant and eat."_

_"__Stop apologising," Melanie said, stopping in front of her door, "I enjoyed myself…I really did."_

_Joel looked down at her with a small smile "Well, I'm glad that you're willing to go on another date with me," he said "I enjoyed myself too."_

_Feeling nervous all of a sudden as if she was a teenager again, Melanie ran a hand through her hair "You know that saying, 'Don't kiss a boy on a first date'? Do you think it's a general rule or…just a guideline?"_

_"__I think…I think it's just a reminder to take things slow…savour the moment," Joel whispered, despite leaning into her a little more, "you know what I mean?"_

_Melanie smiled "I do…" she said and glanced down at the ground, "it's not every day that you meet a man willing to take things slow. Thank you."_

_"__I think its best," Joel said, taking a step back, "don't wanna rush things do we?"_

_"__You're right," Melanie agreed although she had an urge to just grab him and kiss him, "well, thank you for a wonderful night…I mean it, I hope you don't play hard to get and not call me for weeks."_

_Joel grinned "As if I could do that. Good night Melanie,"_

_"__Good night Joel."_

_Walking inside her flat, Melanie sighed and leaned against the door, Christ, it was embarrassing at how much she liked Joel. Never before had she felt such a __**need**__ to be with someone. He seemed too good to be true and she just hoped he was as good as his word and called her soon._

_Before she had even taken a step, there was a knock on the door and she was surprised to see Joel on the other side. "You know…we wouldn't be breaking any rules If, me being here, counts as a second date," he said quietly, his eyes intense as he gazed at her._

_"__You know you're right," Melanie said quickly, "we'd not be breaking any rules at all."_

_"__Glad you're on the same wavelength as me."_

_Joel took one step towards her and slipped a hand onto her neck and kissed her deeply. Melanie could only hold onto his chest as she kissed him back hard, she felt dizzyingly amazing as they shared this moment and her eyes fluttered open when he broke the kiss._

_"__Well, that's a perfect ending to my day," he said a little breathlessly._

_Melanie grinned and cupped his cheek, "Looks like your fortune cookie was right," she whispered before kissing him once again._


	9. Chapter Eight: Hope

_"__Do you think she'll like me?"_

_Joel chuckled as he parked his truck outside Melanie's flat. They had just been on another date and he had announced that Sarah wanted to meet her, "Why wouldn't she like you?" he asked, turning off the ignition and raising an eyebrow at Melanie, "I like you just fine and so will she."_

_"__I've never had to...meet a boyfriend's __**daughter **__before," Melanie said uncomfortably "I'm just scared she'll hate me and then…and then I lose you because you'll never pick a girlfriend over your daughter and I don't want you to do that, ever, but I also don't want this to end..."_

_Taking her hand in his, Joel shook his head "Sarah is…well, she's an amazing kid. I know I'm a 'lil biased when I say that being her father but she is. She isn't holding out for her mom and I to…reconcile…she won't see you as an obstacle. So, I think you two will get along fine."_

_"__You promise."_

_"__Scouts honour."_

_Melanie smiled a little and leant over to kiss his cheek, "Fine, I'll take your word for it. So what are we doing tomorrow?"_

_"__Me and Sarah go on hikes sometimes," Joel said grinning a little at her, "how about you come with us."_

_"__I don't think I've got many hiking shoes," Melanie replied, thinking of the high heels in her cupboard. Not hike friendly at all._

_He shrugged at her, "I don't know…how about you come to one of her soccer games? If they keep winning they're gonna be in the championships, be good if you're there. Show some support."_

_Nodding slowly, Melanie smiled to herself "Yeah, yeah that sounds like fun," she turned to him and winked "I'll even buy the victory pizza afterwards."_

_"__She's definitely gonna like you."_

"OK, let me see if I get it straight. If you mess up your fourth down, then you give the ball to the other team?"

Melanie rolled her eyes: for the past few hours Joel had been teaching Ellie the rules of football and she had felt completely lost. What was annoying was that Ellie was picking it up fast. Now she was the only one who didn't get it. The young girl was sitting behind Joel as they talked and Melanie couldn't help but smile at the sight. Despite what had been said before in the ranch, it was clear there was still a bond between the two of them.

Joel nodded approvingly "Right, it's called turnover."

"And if you clear the ten yards then you're back at…first down?"

"First down. That's right."

"Man, that's confusing. No wonder you don't get this 'Mel."

Snorting, Melanie shook her head "I worked in that bar long enough and never understood the game. I could have sworn Tommy and Joel made up most of the rules."

"They probably did," Ellie agreed, raising an eyebrow "I wouldn't put it past them."

Joel chuckled "You two ladies just gotta play it a couple of times. It'll all make sense."

"Can I get that in writing?" Melanie asked sceptically "Because I highly doubt that."

They kept up good pace and Melanie recognised the street they were and glanced at Joel. "Hey, if my memory serves right – we're getting close to the University," she said and frowned slightly at how quiet it was. It was unusual that no Firefly guards were surrounding them for approaching their headquarters.

"Really?" Ellie asked as the horses stopped in the middle of the street, "'Coz none of these buildings look like a mirror to me."

Melanie nodded, "It's a little further up the road, trust me…I'm just concerned why there isn't anybody standing guard," she said quietly "this is where they do all their research."

"Well. We'll head to central grounds," Joel said, glancing around warily "should be able to see most of the campus from there and keep an eye out for any unwanted attention."

"Sounds like a plan."

They kept going down the street this time in silence as they listened out for any Fireflies or worse roaming the seemingly abandoned streets. Joel, almost as if he was showing off, got his horse to jump over a bench and Ellie giggled behind him.

"That was fun."

Shaking her head, Melanie tried not to smile but upon seeing the both of them laugh she couldn't help but smile softly. It had been a long time she had good reason to smile.

"Hey, over there!" Ellie said quickly "Is that it?"

Melanie shielded her eyes from the sun and looked to where the younger girl was pointing, "Yeah, yeah that is it," she said happily "told you we were on the right track."

"Hmm, I guess it does look like a giant mirror," Joel admitted, glancing at Melanie.

"I did say."

Joel nodded "You did…come on, we should try and get there before it gets dark," he glanced around and seen a wall knocked down leading into some rooms "looks like we can cut through here."

Carefully guiding her horse over the debris, Melanie took the lead and scanned each room as they entered the building. "How many people you think are there?" Ellie asked them curiously "Fireflies, I mean."

"Reckon it takes quite a crew to run that operation," Joel replied, ducking his head to avoid smacking it, "Melanie's the one to ask really. She's been here before after all."

Melanie shrugged, "Tommy and I didn't really get the whole tour of the building…just did a few missions for them before we decided to leave. There could be hundreds or hardly any Fireflies in there."

"What made you want to leave?"

Thinking carefully, Melanie forced a smile as Ellie and even Joel looked at her "Just wasn't the life for me," she said honestly "after everything I've been through, I just wanted something better and…and I found it."

"I'm glad you found what you were looking for," Joel said, his voice a little stiff as he kept his eyes averted from her.

Not knowing why he was prickly Melanie didn't answer him and Ellie, sensing the tension, decided to change the subject. "You think there'll be other people my age?"

"Ah…I'm not sure on that one kiddo," Joel said, frowning a little as a closed gate blocked their way, "we'll just need to see when we get there. Just you keep Callus calm."

Melanie raised her eyebrows as Joel dismounted 'Callus' and stood in front of the gate, "You named your horse Callus?" she asked smiling a little.

"I did not name the horse, Ellie did…" Joel narrowed his eyes at the girl who was smirking slightly "What kind of name is Callus anyways?"

Ellie shrugged "You weren't gonna name him and he needed one…

"I'm sure he did."

As Joel opened the gate, Melanie frowned as the two horses began to neigh nervously and back away slowly. Looking up, she seen that Joel also had a concerned expression on his face as he grabbed the reins of Ellie's horse and tried to calm him down.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa…" he said softly, patting his head "What is it boy?"

Melanie clapped Red's neck comfortably, "There must be something up ahead to get them all riled up," she said quickly, "I don't wanna think about what it could be."

An unintelligible holler echoed throughout the abandoned campus and Melanie froze: she knew that sound too well now. Gripping at the gun at her side, Ellie looked a little worried "Sounds like runners," she whispered.

"You stay with Melanie and the horses," Joel said firmly, slipping out the gate and closing it behind him. Ignoring, Melanie's look he shut the gate and got out his gun, "I'll go check it out."

Ellie glanced between the two adults and then her eyes settled on Joel "Are you sure about this?" she asked "Should we really be splittin' up?"

"Yes, I am," Joel said quietly, putting a finger to his lips, "I don't want them running off."

Melanie frowned at his not so subtle hint for them to be quiet, "And what do we do when you run into trouble and we can't get to you?" she hissed through the bars at him.

"You get Ellie the hell outta here and leave me behind," he replied grimly, looking over his shoulder at her, "her life is more important than mine."

"Joel!"

Watching as he disappeared down some stairs, Melanie let out a growl of frustration before dismounting her horse too, "Don't say you're leaving as well," Ellie whispered, a hint of worry in her eyes.

"No, no, I'm just gonna keep watch behind us," Melanie replied reassuringly, patting Red's neck as she walked by him, "don't want to end up trapped in here."

As she got out her gun, she heard Ellie get down from Callus, "You know, I never did thank you for coming with us," Ellie said quietly "you didn't have too."

"You kiddin' me?" Melanie smiled a little as she looked over her shoulder at Ellie, "You may possibly be the cure for mankind, I'll be in the history books if we pull this off. What sane person turns that down?"

Ellie grinned slightly and leant against the wall, "Still…thanks for tagging along…I appreciate it. So does Joel."

"Don't mention it kiddo," Melanie said nodding "I don't mind."

There was only a few moments of silence before Ellie spoke again, "So after all this…getting to the Fireflies and curing mankind…what will you do?"

"Well…I'd probably go back to Tommy and Maria," Melanie said slowly, not really knowing the true answer to Ellie's question, "they have a good thing going there and it's better than what's happening in the cities or anywhere else. Why do you ask?"

Ellie began playing with a loose thread on her jumper and shrugged "I was just wondering…do you-do you think I could go back there with you?"

"I don't think that will be a problem."

"And…and Joel?"

Melanie hesitated "If that's what he wanted to do…I don't know if it is or not," she said softly and then glanced at Ellie, "has he mentioned anything to you about his next move?"

"Nope, nothin'," Ellie said, swinging her arms as she stood against the wall "I don't think he even knows what his options are. Maybe you should tell him?"

Before Melanie could reply, they could hear gunshots and shouting come from the courtyard and she sighed: that man could be stupid at times. "Well, if he doesn't start thinking things through he isn't gonna have options," she muttered.

_"__He really likes you."_

_Melanie looked over to Sarah in surprise, they had went to a fast food place for pizza to celebrate Sarah's team going into the championship and they were waiting for Joel and Tommy to come over with the food._

_"__Huh?"_

_Sarah rolled her eyes and pointed over to her father and uncle, "My dad. He's so into you it's kinda embarrassing."_

_"__Really?" Melanie smiled a little and then glanced at Sarah, "How can you tell?"_

_"__Well, he's sings in the shower now," Sarah said unimpressed, "gets a goofy smile on his face whenever you guys talk on the phone or when you send him a message. He's more of a teenage girl than I am."_

_Laughing loudly, Melanie stored that useful information away and turned to Sarah "Well, while its made my day much better knowing your dad likes me….I just wanted to know if you like me too," she cringed a little at Sarah's look, "not in the same way obviously."_

_"__Obviously not in the same way," Sarah said giggling "I'm just happy that he's found someone he likes. For ages he was alone and unhappy…I know what my mom did hurt him really bad and it's good to know he's not completely shut everyone out when he could have, so for the record I do like you," Sarah told her and smiled "I think you're cool and I wouldn't mind hanging out with you."_

_Feeling relieved at what the younger girl said, Melanie sighed happily, "You don't know how pleased I am to hear that," she said "to know you don't mind me and your dad dating."_

_"__Anyone who buys me pizza is okay in my book," Sarah said jokingly "oh and by the way, thanks for coming to my game today, you didn't have too."_

_Melanie's smile grew as she realized that Sarah, as well as Joel, had accepted her into her life and she didn't grudge it. It was a good feeling, "Well, I'm glad I did," she said "and I can't wait to go see your team win the championship next week. We'll do something fun to celebrate after."_

_"__Sounds like fun…but can you do me a favour first?"_

_"__Sure 'hon, what is it?"_

_"__Convince my dad to stop singing in the shower? It's getting embarrassing."_

**A/N Sorry about the long wait, there's been a major loss in my family and it took me a while to get back to writing. I hope I haven't disappointed in this latest chapter.**

**Thank you to everyone who's reviewed ****J****I love to read them and know I'm doing a good job!**

**BSI.**


	10. Chapter Nine: Go Big Horns

_As the end of her shift approached, Melanie couldn't help but rush through her orders and confuse Chuck in the process, "Fuck, Mel. You're going too fast!" he said, shaking his head as he poured shots, "I'm getting my tequila and vodka shooters mixed up."_

_"__They're drunk anyway," Melanie said impatiently as he loaded up the tray with shots, "does it really matter?"_

_"__What's got you all impatient anyway? You're not usually like this."_

_Before she could say anything, Daisy snorted as she cut up the limes, "Ain't it obvious, Chuck? She's got a date lined up with Joel and she's anxious to get goin'."_

_"__Do you blame her?" Charlene smirked, fixing her bra even with men watching her "That's one hell of a man she gets to cuddle up to at night."_

_Chuck cringed and shook his head, "You know what… __**I'll**_ _take the shots over," he muttered, picking up the tray, "can't stand all this girly talk."_

_"__Thanks for making the boss uncomfortable," Melanie sighed, rubbing her head and also glancing at the clock._

_Charlene rolled her eyes and looked at Daisy, "Tonight must be the first time."_

_"__I think you're right."_

_"__I would've done it all ways with him by now, if it were me."_

_"__Same here."_

_Knowing there was a blush on her cheeks, Melanie narrowed her eyes at the two women "I am right here, y'know," she hissed._

_"__And why are you?" Charlene replied incredulously, "just get home, put on something easy to take off, run back here and then get that man of yours on a bed for Christ's sake."_

_Daisy nodded, "For the first time in like forever, you have a boyfriend 'Mel. We never thought this day would come."_

_"__Gee, you girls are just so nice to me," Melanie said but gave them both a thankful smile: they weren't as bad as she thought, "I'll just finish up here. Joel's picking me up at 9pm."_

_Before she knew it, it was 9pm and Melanie grabbed her stuff when she seen Joel's truck pull up outside, "Okay, I'll see you tomorrow night," she said, shooting them a smile._

_"__Enjoy yourself, you lucky bitch!" Daisy said with only a little bit of jealousy in her voice._

_Charlene gave her a cheeky wink, "I want details tomorrow. Detailed details."_

_"__You'll be lucky!"_

_Outside, Joel grinned widely when she got in the truck and kissed him on the cheek, "How was work?" he asked, starting up the engine and pulling out of the parking lot._

_"__Embarrassing," Melanie said and unpinned her hair, "Is Sarah back from her friends?"_

_His grin suddenly turned smug, "Well, it's actually only you and me tonight. Sarah's gonna sleepover at Becky's tonight," Joel glanced in her direction, "got the place to ourselves."_

_"__Hmm… interesting," Melanie smiled, "I hope you'll behave yourself."_

_"__I hope you don't."_

Melanie held her breath for what felt like several minutes but there was still silence in the courtyard, biting her lip, she willed Joel to appear and for them to be on their way. She hated being out in the cities, ever since the world had gone to shit and her life had been ruined.

_"__You always see the glass as half empty, 'Mel… suppose that's the waitress in you."_

Lucy's words echoed in her mind and Melanie shook her head: she had to stay focussed here. Ellie was depending on them.

"You stay here," she said suddenly, after making up her mind to find out what was keeping Joel, "I'm gonna go see where he's went."

Ellie's eyes widened and she shook her head, "You're not leaving me here are you?"

"I have to Ellie, don't worry, I won't be long," Melanie tried to sound reassuring as she got out her gun, "I promise-"

The sound of a generator could be heard and Melanie stopped and turned to look through the gate wondering what was going on and caught sight of Joel heading back towards them, "Oh hey!" Ellie said happily, running past Melanie to open the gate, "You're back!"

"You sound surprised," he said, but squeezed Ellie's shoulder before he glanced at Melanie, "Were you worried?"

Melanie forced herself not to be so relieved at his return, she wasn't going to get attached to him again. "More like wondering when we should push on," she replied coolly, "after all you did tell us to leave you behind."

"Hey, y'know what?" Ellie said quickly, trying to diffuse the tension leading Callus and Red through the gates "I really would have liked to be an astronaut."

Joel gave Melanie a look before he shook his head and lead them to the now unlocked gate, "That a fact?"

"Why an astronaut?" Melanie asked, averting her eyes as she pulled herself up onto Red's back. If Joel was going to ignore their brewing tension than so was she. Two could play at this game.

Ellie seemed satisfied with them being quiet rather than tearing each other's hair out, "Can you imagine being up there all by yourself?" she asked, and then gave a casual shrug "Would've been cool. I'm just sayin'."

Pressing a button, Joel opened the door and it gave a loud creak as it raised up. "What about you two?" Ellie asked glancing at Melanie and Joel over her shoulder, "What'd you both wanna be?"

"Oh… well, when I was a kid," Joel answered her as he climbed up to sit in front of Ellie, "I used to want to be a… a singer."

Melanie couldn't help but look at him in surprise, in all the years they were together, not once had he told her that. Laughing, Ellie shook her head, "Shut up. You? Really?"

"I'm serious."

"I didn't know that," Melanie said quietly and then smiled a little, "why don't you sing something then?"

Joel looked at her and snorted, "Ah… I'm thinkin' no."

"Oh come on, we won't laugh," Ellie teased him, "don't be scared Joel."

Melanie's smile grew, "We won't be too critical on your performance."

"I don't think so."

Ellie huffed but looked over to Melanie as Red kept up with Callus, "How 'bout you Mel? You didn't wanna be a singer too, did you?"

"No, funnily enough," Melanie answered and tilted her head thoughtfully as she looked around the university campus, "I really wanted to be a teacher… was even going to take night classes but… I had money issues. My dad got sick, I had to stay at home and look after him and became a waitress at his friends bar. Just never got round to doing it after he died."

"I'm sorry about your dad," Ellie sighed, "that really sucks."

Shrugging, Melanie forced a smile, "Hey, sometimes life isn't perfect but I was happy at the bar. Met some nice people."

"That you did…" Joel said suddenly, his eyes meeting hers again and this time she didn't look away.

"Well, you're doing a great job teaching me cool stuff," Ellie said kindly, giving her a small smile not taking notice of their moment "Joel not so much, he's gonna need extra tutoring."

Joel chuckled at Ellie's comment, "I've taught you stuff too."

"Some new swear words in particular," Melanie murmured.

The horse's hooves echoed louder than Melanie would have liked through the courtyard but it was the strange screeching that captured her interest. Looking ahead, she suddenly seen monkeys running from the approaching horses and she couldn't help but smile as they climbed doorways and perched on top to watch them. "Aw look at them!" Ellie exclaimed, her eyes lighting up as she watched the monkeys with fascination, "They are so awesome!"

"Don't get too close, their bite fucking hurts," Melanie told her, remembering the time at the zoo with her sister and nephews.

Joel glanced over his shoulder and gave Ellie a smile, "First time seeing a monkey?"

"How'd you guess?" Ellie asked laughing and went back to watching them, "Yes, it was my first time seeing a monkey."

The daylight slowly faded as the afternoon grew late and as they went further into the university, Ellie suddenly pointed "Hey, guys look!" she said excitedly, "Fireflies! The bug kind!"

"I'll take that as a good sign," Joel said, his eyes narrowing as he looked ahead.

However, Ellie had spotted another sign and patted his back to get his attention, "Joel, look!"

"I see it," Joel answered still looking ahead and Melanie frowned a little as she tried to see what was making him so on edge.

Ellie kept her eyes on the Firefly sign until they were completely past it, "It _is_ a good sign," she whispered out loud, "I know it is."

"I'll keep my fingers crossed," Melanie joked but deep inside, she prayed with everything in her that it was a good sign.

If only she knew that they were both so very wrong.

_As Joel awoke the next morning, or at least he thought it was morning, he opened his eyes and felt something tickling his chin and looked down to see Melanie's hair. He grinned as he pulled her closer and heard her murmur something sleepily._

_"__Morning," he whispered kissing her on the forehead and breathing in her soothing scent._

_Melanie frowned a little and burrowed her head into his chest, "No, not morning," she grumbled in an annoyed sleepy tone "that means we need to get up."_

_"__And I take it you don't want to?"_

_"__Oh God no. Your bed is so much more comfortable than mine."_

_He chuckled and traced shapes on her back "I'm finding it hard to wake up," he said enjoying the feel of her naked body against his, "but it has nothing to do with the bed."_

_Smiling, Melanie looked up at him and ran her finger over his jaw "I could get used to this y'know," she said softly "waking up next to you."_

_"__So could I."_

_Kissing her softly, he pushed her gently onto her back and ran his hands down her sides to her hips. Melanie groaned a little as he pressed against her and looped her hands around his neck, running her hands through his hair as he began to kiss that area of her neck that made her tingle all over but before anything could go any further, the door banged open and Tommy walked in._

_"__Hey, Joel need your help on-" he stopped as Joel rolled off of Melanie and pulled the covers up over them both, "Damn, sorry brother. Didn't realize you had…_ **_company_**_."_

_Feeling her cheeks burn with embarrassment, Melanie smiled politely at Tommy, "Morning… fancy seeing you here," she said sarcastically._

_"__I could say the same," Tommy grinned._

_Joel groaned and rubbed his face, "Tommy, you mind… leaving. Before this gets any weirder."_

_"__Don't worry, I'm going," Tommy laughed loudly, turning around and walking out, "You kids have fun!"_

_As the door shut, Melanie covered her face and shook her head, "Your brother has amazing timing, doesn't he?"_

_"__At least he didn't come in last night," Joel grinned, "it really would have spoiled the moment."_

_"__Thank the Lord for small mercies."_

A/N

So sorry for the long break but I'm focusing on this story completely as I finished Girl Who Cried Wolf and this is the one story everyone's favouriting and reviewing.

Hope you liked this chapter even though it's just a filler for the next one. Some Melanie/Joel private time as they fight runners and clickers! Ooh I can't wait!

~ BSI


	11. Chapter Ten: Friendly Behaviour

_"__Y'know, we coulda just went to bed early tonight," Joel whispered in her ear as Melanie rang the doorbell, "I have the day off tomorrow… so do you…"_

_Melanie wrinkled her nose at him, "We're having dinner with my sister," she said as the annoying doorbell chimed loudly inside the house "I've rang the doorbell. There's no going back now."_

_"__I dunno… I could probably make it back to the truck before-"_

_The door opened and Melanie's sister Lucy stood and gave them both a grin, "So he is that sexy new boyfriend of yours," she said, leaning against the doorframe and eyeing Joel up and down appreciatively, "you were dead on with the description 'sis."_

_"__May I remind you your husband is inside?" Melanie joked while Joel looked smug at the lavish attention Lucy was giving him._

_Lucy waved her hand, "He's used to my window shopping, long as I don't buy anything, he's happy," she stepped aside, "come on, food'll be getting cold and the wine will get warm."_

_"__Well, if it does, we can start on this one," Joel said holding out the wine they had brought as he passed, "little gift from me to you. Chilled it before we got here."_

_Lucy took it off of him and raised her eyebrows, "Wow, this is the good stuff," she winked at Joel, "my sister's trained you well."_

_"__She has indeed ma'am."_

_Shaking her head, Melanie followed the other two into the house and grinned when her nephews pelted down the stairs in their pyjamas, "Aunt Mel!" Luke shouted happily and hugged her knees while Lucas tugged at her arm excitedly._

_"__Hey, there's my guys!" Melanie said, giving the twins a loving smile, "Shouldn't you be in bed?"_

_"__But we wanted to see you!"_

_"__ICE CREAM!"_

_Lucy rolled her eyes and peered through to the open kitchen at the man serving out some food onto plates, "Gary? Mind giving them their ice-cream?"_

_"__No problem babe," Gary grinned at Melanie and Joel as he came through with two bowels, "how's it goin' Mel?"_

_Melanie rolled her eyes as the boys completely ignored them and ran upstairs with their ice cream, spoons already in their mouths. "Going good thanks," she slipped an arm through Joel's and smiled, "this is Joel, Joel this is my brother-in-law Gary."_

_The two men shook hands and Lucy clapped her hands, "Well that ice-cream isn't gonna distract them forever, let's get this wine opened!"_

_"__Don't worry, I'll introduce you to the boys next week when we go to the zoo," Melanie whispered to Joel as they took their places at the dinner table._

_Chuckling, he nodded "Can't wait."_

"Why am I getting left behind?"

Melanie sighed as Ellie gave them both a defiant look "Because there is too many damn runners and clickers for me to take on myself," Joel said firmly, "I need Melanie to be my back-up. We can't risk you gettin' hurt. You're the damn cure, remember?"

"Look at it this way," Melanie added, seeing that the young girl still wasn't convinced "with two of us, we'll be back quicker, then we can go look for the Fireflies together."

Folding her arms, Ellie was silent for a moment before shrugging, "Fine… just… just hurry back, okay?" she looked to Joel in particular, "Take care."

"You too, remember you have your comics to read while you wait," Joel said comfortingly before glancing at Melanie, "c'mon, let's get this over with."

Melanie pushed a strand of hair out of Ellie's face and smiled reassuringly at her, "Don't worry, I'll look after him," she said softly.

"Make sure you do!"

Satisfied that nothing could get to Ellie and the horses, Melanie didn't feel as anxious as she and Joel entered the ruined staff building. As always, Joel looked around for anything useful and Melanie listened out for any trouble. Walking by an old desk, she seen a ragged map of the grounds and gave it a look over: this could be a help to them.

"Hey, look at what I found," she said holding it up to Joel, "should come in handy."

"Yeah, it might," Joel said, glancing over it, "pity it isn't too detailed."

Melanie made a face at him, "Never happy are you?" she joked and pocketed the map in her backpack.

"Let's head upstairs, see if we can find a _detailed_ map of the campus… _that_ would be an actual help."

"Oh har de har, you're so funny."

As they ascended up the stairs, Melanie couldn't help but glance at Joel and feel a little nervous: it had been a long time since it had just been the two of them alone. Feeling her gaze on him, Joel turned and raised an eyebrow, "Everything okay?" he asked, "You've got a funny look on your face."

"I'm fine," Melanie said a little quickly and took out her torch as they lost the daylight, "just want to hurry up and find the Fireflies already."

Joel was quiet as she searched her backpack, "Eager to get back to Tommy?" he asked a little too bitterly for Melanie's liking.

"I'm eager to get back to everyone… _especially_ Maria," Melanie added firmly, "she's been like family to me for the last twenty years."

Shaking his head, Joel gave her a guilty look "I'm sorry… I shouldn't keep bringing… you and Tommy…_ it_ up, that you and him-" he stopped talking and sighed "-how about I don't mention it again?"

"Thank you that would be nice…" Melanie said quietly feeling pissed off with his jealousy "considering how I don't bring up Tess to you all the time."

Stiffening at her words, Joel averted his eyes, "Point taken," he muttered "how about we just do this and get back to Ellie."

They continued on in silence and Melanie felt a little ashamed for bringing up Tess to Joel, her death had obviously affected him badly and she wished she could take back her words especially as he hadn't spoken to her since.

"Joel, spores up ahead," Melanie said quietly pointing them out as she recognized the fungus from a mile off. Nodding, he paused and the two adults put on their masks, it still amazed Melanie how Ellie could have easily walked through those spores and not be affected like her or Joel would be. That little girl was certainly a marvel.

Walking along the corridor, Melanie shone her torch on the walls and looked curiously at all the adverts and posters. Support your local team, 10% off your next haircut if you're a student, free slice of pizza if you present your student card at the till… she couldn't help but feel saddened by the world they had lost. All those things she had taken for granted… and she would never experience again.

No more bar… no more Chuck… no more sneaking tequila shots with Charlene or Daisy... no more Lucy or-

Her eyes immediately watered at the thought of her sister and family and she blinked furiously under her mask. There was no point in going over these depressing thoughts again, she had tormented herself in the first five years of this plague and she wasn't going to start again. It hurt too much.

"Hey, looks like we gotta jump down here," Joel muttered, stopping her just before she walked into the giant hole in the ground.

Melanie glanced down and sighed "Great…"

"You okay?" Joel asked her, "You were a million miles away there, what you thinkin' about?"

Refusing to open old wounds with her ex, Melanie shook her head, "We've got no time for this, let's just keep going."

Jumping down the hole in the floor first, Melanie instantly stiffened when she heard clickers stumbling about in the darkness around her. Feeling Joel's hand on her back, she let him lead her over to a desk as they figured out their next move.

Thinking to himself, Joel slowly brought out his knife and nodded to Melanie, understanding his meaning, she brought out hers as well and slowly crept forward to a clicker while Joel did the same to the one in the other room.

As she got ready to grab the clicker, Melanie mentally steeled herself for something she hated to do. Jumping up, she quickly stabbed it in the head, hating how its skin felt against her bare hand and the horrible noises it made as it died. Pushing it off of her, she quickly retreated into the corner when another clicker, attracted by the noise, entered the room.

_Here we go_.

Four clickers later, she seen Joel emerge from the back and was about to speak when he shook his head vehemently and pointed to the door. Frowning, Melanie looked over to the door and froze when she seen a large bloater walk by. Feeling disheartened, she shook her head at their predicament and slowly headed towards Joel.

"Plan?" she barely whispered as he pulled her into a classroom.

Joel was quiet before he answered just as softly "Stay here."

"No…" she hissed and tried to follow him but he grabbed her hand and gave her a frown.

"Ellie."

Melanie was silent and knew what he was getting at. They both couldn't risk their lives: not when Ellie was depending on them.

Looking down at the hand still clasped around her arm, Melanie slowly placed her other hand on his and entwined her fingers with Joel's as she held his hand tightly in hers. She wished she could see his facial features that were hidden behind his mask and didn't know if she was relieved or annoyed that he couldn't see hers.

"Be careful."

Joel was still after she spoke, as if stunned by her actions, and squeezed her hand back softly as he nodded. "I will be."

Melanie just stood there after she let go of his hand and felt her heart thumping as she heard the smash of glass and a bloater roaring out in pain several times, seeing flames in the other room, she felt genuine worry as there was only silence as the flames slowly died out and wondered what had happened to Joel… if he had managed to kill the bloater or if this time…

The relief flooded through her, yet again, as Joel came through panting with some ash on his clothes, "How the hell did you kill it?" she asked him.

"Molotovs…" he said, she could practically hear the grin in his voice, "I can be quite creative with the stuff I find."

"Clearly. I am impressed."

"As well you should be."

The next corridor was in a horrible state and stunk of death, feeling sickened by the bodies, Melanie tried not to look at them but found it hard to erase the image from her memory. It was added to the already horrible memories she had and she sighed inwardly. It would be nice to just see a nice view, like a field of flowers and not wonder how many clickers or runners were inside it.

Stopping suddenly, Melanie shook as she seen another bloater come into view. It was even bigger than the last one and was bulging out in the most disgusting way. Joel looked just as sickened and put a finger to where his mouth would be as they started to sneak past it. The corridor was too small… they wouldn't have much room to fight it and would only put themselves into danger.

Holding her breath as they slowly walked by the growling bloater, Melanie looked at the monstrous thing and felt pity for what the person had become. This could have been anyone that had turned into this, Chuck, Charlene, Daisy or her sister Lucy…

Watching the bloater out of the corner of her eye, Melanie seen Joel straighten up and try to open the door – only it remained firmly shut and she felt her heart drop. They couldn't be stuck in here with this thing, it would be suicide.

"Shit…" Joel whispered and the bloater made an angry noise as it swayed on the spot. They had to be careful here.

Pushing his shoulder against the door, Joel opened it a little and held it open for Melanie who slipped through easily. The door made a loud groan and Melanie froze on the spot as the bloater's head turned their way, "Mel, come on. Move!" Joel hissed.

Sneaking through first, she held it open but it creaked loudly and caused the bloater to head towards them, "Shit!" she cursed as Joel forced himself through the doorway and together they quickly pushed the fridge against the door just in time. The bloater was immediately against the glass, trying to sense the prey that had escaped from it.

Waiting until they were on the next flight of stairs, Joel looked around before taking off his gas mask and Melanie followed suit. She hated how sweaty it would get wearing those things and gratefully breathed in some fresh air.

"Well, that wasn't too painful," Melanie said stretching out her body, feeling stiff from all the crouching and sneaking about they had just done and glanced out of the window to look at their surroundings, "we'll be able to go out those doors and head down to the gates," she said, pointing it out to Joel.

Not hearing him answer, Melanie turned to him but was stopped in her tracks when she seen the intense look in his eyes. It had been a long, long time since he had looked at her like that.

"What did that… what did that mean?" he asked slowly.

Knowing full well what he meant, Melanie blushed a little and chose to play the oblivious card "What are you talking about?" she asked uneasily, wishing he would stop looking at her like that.

"Back before I killed the bloater… you took my hand," Joel said quietly, "gripped it real right, like you didn't wanna let me go… and I wanna know what that meant."

Melanie felt her throat dry and she desperately tried to think of an answer: _You stupid idiot, you're making this out to be a fucking romance during the end of the world. He's leaving after you find the Fireflies… don't get fucking attached!_

Shrugging, Melanie folded her arms and tried to keep her face neutral "I was just trying to show how worried I was about the situation, I didn't want anything to happen to you," she said calmly, "I couldn't exactly say it… so I tried to convey it in other ways. No need to think it was… _something_."

"So it was nothing… just a friendly 'I'm worried about you' hand holding between friends?" Joel asked sarcastically.

"Exactly… just… just friendly," Melanie tried to sound assertive but with one look, she knew Joel thought she was talking bullshit.

As he stepped forward, she almost gasped when he put his hands on either side of her head and leaned in, his body pressed against hers slightly, "Just friendly?" he repeated, his eyes looking deep into hers.

"Yes…," she whispered and hated how her breathing had quickened, it had been twenty years damn it! Yet, still he had this effect on her, making her breathless and making her heartbeat quicken just by being near her.

His eyes flickered down to her lips and then back up, "You sure about that?"

The urge to just close the gap between them and kiss him was so tempting, that Melanie was scared she would actually do it. Closing her eyes, she forced a nod "Definitely."

Joel almost pressed his forehead against hers as he moved closer, memories of their bodies pressed together in a different way causing Melanie to open her eyes to stop reliving them. "If you say so," he whispered and then all of a sudden his warm body was off of hers and he was walking towards the door.

Feeling dazed by what just happened, Melanie watched him walk away and let out a shaky breath as her heart continued to race. Something had changed between them and she wasn't sure if that was a good thing…

_Dinner was a great success and Melanie couldn't help but feel so incredibly happy that her sister and her brother-in-law loved Joel. He liked the same football team as Gary, they laughed at each other's jokes and Lucy was won over by him promising to look at the garbage disposal once he got some free time._

_By the time they finished eating and moved onto the second bottle of wine, Melanie knew that her sister completely approved of Joel._

_"__God, I am so happy that you aren't an asshole," Lucy said, sipping her wine, "she's had far too many of them in her life. About time she found a good guy."_

_Melanie made a face, "Yeah, well, we don't need to talk about __**that **__right now," she muttered. _

_"__How about we make a toast," Gary said smiling, "To Joel and Melanie – she's finally found the one."_

_Her eyes widened at his words and she felt a blush on her cheeks when Joel nodded, "Cheers," he whispered and clinked his glass against hers while squeezing her knee under the table._

_"__Aw look at her, she's blushing," Lucy teased her gently, "practising the role of 'blushing bride' a bit early are we not?"_

_Melanie laughed, "Come on 'Luce, way too soon to be thinking about that isn't it?" she asked raising an eyebrow, "we've gotta be together for more than a year before that happens."_

_"__If it even happens at all," Joel said jokingly "went down the aisle once already and I'm not sure if I'll be doing it again."_

_Looking at him in surprise, Melanie felt a sudden jolt in her stomach when she realized that he didn't want to get married again… something that she had always wanted, she wanted the whole package: a husband, kids, the white picket fence and the dog. Melanie had just assumed that Joel would want those things too._

_"__Well, you've got plenty of time to decide on your future," Lucy said a little awkwardly, knowing what her sister wanted out of life, "not like you need to be married before you have kids… it is the twenty-first century."_

_Gary nodded, "And no fear in that department Joel," he said trying to diffuse the tension that had appeared when 'kids' were mentioned, "Melanie's gonna make an amazing mom, she's great with the boys."_

_"__Well… that's gonna be another thing to decide on," Joel said a little embarrassedly as he drank his wine, "I never really seen myself having more kids."_

_Melanie frowned a little as she looked at him, "Really?" she asked._

_"__Well, I didn't see myself dating again but then I found you, so who knows," Joel said but she seen the guilt in his eyes and knew he had meant what he said._

_Lucy seemed to regret the conversation she had initiated and stood up with a beaming smile, "I got some fancy chocolates for Thanksgiving, I'm sure they have a good amount of booze in them. Let's start on them!"_

_Gary brought up the last game that had been on and Joel seemed thankful for the change in topic but Melanie felt her heart sinking at what she had just learned._

_She didn't know where they went from here..._


	12. Chapter Eleven: Another Way

_"__So… can't wait to get the movies," Sarah said a little awkwardly as she sat in the back of the truck, "should be fun, huh?"_

_Melanie glanced at Joel as he smiled at Sarah in the rear-view mirror, "You bet 'hon."_

_"__You excited 'Mel?" Sarah asked "It's got zombies, shooting and a topless guy in it."_

_Trying to force a smile, Melanie nodded "Definitely sounds up my street, chick."_

_Looking out of the window, Melanie could practically feel the tension in the front and wished she hadn't agreed to come to the movies. Ever since they had had dinner with her sister, things between her and Joel had been tense. They had both refused to talk about the elephant in the room and it was putting a strain on their relationship. _

_Jumping slightly, Melanie looked down to see that Joel had taken hold of her hand and he glanced at her as he squeezed it._

_It used to make her heart jump, little romantic gestures like this but now it was a stab in the heart._

_"__Well, I am going to get a huge bucket of popcorn," Melanie said, in a cheerful tone using her hands to express just how big and felt her heart ache at the expression on Joel's face as his hand returned to the steering wheel. _

_Sarah laughed "Don't forget the soda!"_

_"__Never."_

_"__How rich do you both think I am?" Joel snorted, trying to be joking but there was a bitter undertone._

_As they pulled into the parking lot, Sarah glanced out the window and waved suddenly, "Hey, dad it's Louise and Vicky from school. Can I go talk to them before we go inside?" _

_"__Sure 'hon."_

_Melanie frowned a little when Joel didn't get out of the truck, "You do know that this isn't a drive in movie, right?" she said slightly joking "We have to actually go into the building to see the movie."_

_"__I think we need to talk," Joel murmured looking at her._

_Feeling her heart stop, Melanie looked to him and nodded slowly "I think we do…" she whispered._

"Joel! Melanie! Are you OK?" Ellie asked frantically, peering at them through the bars "What happened in there?"

Melanie walked out after Joel into the sunlight and shielded her eyes "More infected," Joel called back keeping his eyes forward and his body stiffened, "We're fine!"

"Here – come open the gate!" Ellie said, after quickly glancing between them and the younger girl seemed to guess something had happen, "Let's get this over with."

Taking a step back, Melanie watched silently as Joel pushed the generator towards the gate and hooked it up to the electrics. Ellie shot her a curious look as Joel started up the generator and Melanie simply smiled, trying to reassure her but it didn't work as Ellie shook her head in response.

_'__Great' _Melanie thought: running her hand through her hair '_I'm in this situation….__**again**__'_

"Alright," Joel muttered, "let's try that gate."

Ellie hit the button and grinned through the bars at Joel as the gate opened, "Alright! You did it!" she said joyously.

"Don't sound so surprised," Joel said with a hint of a smile "come on through."

Taking the reign off of Ellie, Melanie climbed on the back of Red and watched as Joel hopped up onto the horse. "Scootch," he said and Melanie seen the small affectionate smile on Ellie's face as she did as she was asked.

She could see that there was a connection between them and smiled slowly then felt a tug on her heart as she realized that she was getting attached to Ellie and suddenly wished she had remained distant – it was going to hurt saying goodbye to them both.

They started on their way towards the school and Melanie frowned a little as the campus remained silent, last time she was here, Firefly guards were everywhere and you could barely go two steps without one threatening to shoot you but she wasn't about to say that out loud.

"Hey, those clickers…" Ellie said slowly, her brow furrowed "… you think they were Fireflies?"

Joel paused before he shook his head, "No… no I don't think so…"

"They might have just retreated further into the campus," Melanie said casually, "they know that there's some bandits out there and they probably don't want to make it obvious that this place has supplies."

But Ellie still wasn't satisfied, "But why would they have infected so close to the lab?"

Joel shrugged, "Bill used them as a form of defense," he said quietly, his eyes constantly scanning for more infected "maybe the Fireflies are doing the same."

"Yeah… I could see that."

The campus was quiet and the worry filled Melanie more and more with each step when she didn't see any traces of the Fireflies. And it seemed to pass onto Ellie, "No guards… no nothing," she muttered, shaking her head "this doesn't look good."

"Yeah… I'd expect to see someone by now."

Melanie withheld a sigh, she really didn't need Joel losing hope as well right now.

"Let's just… let's just get inside," Melanie said, pointing to the doors "we'll find a way in."

"Is there a _way_ inside?" Joel asked sarcastically, "everything seems to be boarded up."

Slowing down, Melanie seen what Joel said was true and let out that sigh she had withheld. It was getting darker and they shouldn't really be out when it was dark in a strange place.

"Hey!" Ellie said suddenly, pointing to a window that was broken "What about over there?"

Joel nodded and turned his head slightly to smile at Ellie, "Yeah that looks like a way in…" he said thoughtfully, looking up the window "good eye, Ellie."

"Just need to get up there," Melanie said, feeling slightly nervous as she seen how high it was, "which is just… _peachy_."

Joel got down and went to open the gate, "Don't worry… me and Ellie will watch out for you," he said, finally looking at her.

"Thanks…" she said, trying not to stare at him but after one look at Ellie, she knew she had been caught.

Joel rattled the gate and then smacked the bar angrily "_Damnnit_!" he snapped and then looked back to them, "It's rusted shut. We'll have to find another way."

"Well, we better hurry up and do that," Melanie said warily, looking around at all the dark buildings that could possibly be housing infected.

Ellie shrugged "Maybe… we can climb over it?"

"Don't think the horses will be able to do that," Melanie pointed out and climbed down, patting the horse's back to calm him, "let's just… think of another way."

Joel nodded, "You're right… we can't be dilly-dallying. I'll have a look around," he said, taking out his gun from his pack "you girls stay here and look for anything useful."

"It's what we do," Ellie said rolling her eyes at Melanie, "just hurry back."

"Stay safe… the both of you."

Melanie watched him go and then turned to Ellie, "How about you keep look out and I'll search those tents," she said, pointing to some refugee tents that brought back bad memories about when the world had gone to shit, "see if there's anything useful."

"Are you and Joel getting back together?"

The question surprised Melanie and she turned to Ellie with a stunned expression, "Where did that come from?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"I've seen the way you two look at each other," Ellie said raising her own eyebrow "and it's obvious that you two still love each other. I may be a kid but I'm not stupid."

Melanie felt lost for words and looked behind her to make sure Joel wasn't anywhere near to hear this, "Ellie… there will always be a place for Joel in my heart but… things have changed," she said quietly, looking up at her "we're both different people now."

"Feelings don't go away 'Mel… when he talks about you, his eyes soften and his tone gets all mushy… hell, he even smiles goofily when he says your name," Ellie actually sounded irritated "either treat him like crap so he doesn't think he has a chance or give him a kiss…as long as I'm not around to witness it."

Eyes widening, Melanie shook her head "Joel doesn't…. I don't…"

A sudden loud crash that made the horses rear made Melanie and Ellie jump back as a large garbage bin broke through the rusted gate and burst it wide open. "Holy fuck!" Ellie said, trying to calm Callus down, "Where did that come from?"

"Sorry…" Melanie whipped her head around and seen Joel standing behind them with an unreadable expression on his face "probably should've warned you."

Melanie just wondered how much of their conversation he had heard.

_"__Lately… you just seem so tense," Joel said quietly staring straight ahead. Melanie looked ahead too and watched as Sarah chatted happily to her friends, "and I get the feeling that… things aren't the same anymore between us."_

_Melanie sighed "Joel…"_

_"__I don't want things to change 'Mel…" he said turning to her, his eyes filled with so much desperation that Melanie felt her heart breaking, "my life is so __**fuckin'**_ _amazing right now… I can't lose you. We can work through this-"_

_Melanie just looked at him, "I don't think we can…" she whispered, feeling the tears in her eyes "I want kids… and a wedding with the beautiful white dress and the fancy cake… but you don't. You want a different kind of life…"_

_"__Then let's do it, let's get married… have a baby," Joel said quickly "I don't wanna be without you."_

_"__And I don't want you to end up resenting me," Melanie cried out and then let out a shaky breath as she covered her face "it __**physically**__ hurts to think about not being with you and Sarah… it really does. But I won't stop wanting my own child and you shouldn't be doing this if your heart isn't in it… I think we… I think we need to end things…" her voice broke and she pressed her lips together tightly to stop a sob from escaping. _

_Joel didn't answer her but she seen him tighten his grip on the steering wheel, glancing at him, she seen his face remain emotionless… but his eyes told a different story. "Joel-"_

_"__Hey!" Sarah appeared at the window grinning widely "We gonna see this movie or what?"_

_Melanie quickly wiped her eyes "Actually, Sarah-"_

_"__Sarah… honey, Melanie's sister is in a jam and she has to go help out," Joel interrupted, looking at his daughter with a fake smile, "so it's just gonna be me and you."_

_The young girl looked worriedly between the two adults, "Is everything okay?"_

_"__Course…" Melanie smiled, hoping her make-up wasn't horribly smeared all over her face, "I just… need to help my sister."_

_Joel turned to her slightly, "I think you should go… your sister needs you," he said softly, "we'll be just fine."_

_Getting out the truck, Melanie gave Sarah a hug and tried to hold back the tears "See you around chick," she said smiling, even though it was taking all of her willpower not to cry, "have fun with your dad."_

_"__See you soon," Sarah smiled "I have a game next week. Remember."_

_Melanie nodded, "I'll check my diary," she said softly._

_Joel handed his daughter his wallet, "Here, go pick some food for the movie, I'll be right in."_

_"__Keep the goodbye PG," Sarah joked, taking the wallet and heading for the entrance, "there's people watching."_

_Joel waited until she was out of sight before he turned to Melanie, "I'll get Tommy to drop off your stuff at the bar," he said in a monotone voice, "be less awkward. Just give him mine."_

_"__This isn't how I wanted things to turn out," Melanie whispered, feeling as if she was choking, "I really didn't-"_

_"__Better we end things now before it gets too serious," Joel said quietly "I better go…I hope you find what you're looking for."_

_It was as if he was stabbing her in the heart with how little he cared about their relationship ending, "Joel…" she said but he had already started walking away, she watched hopelessly as the man she had begun to fall for walked out of her life. "I love you…" she whispered and finally let the tears fall._


	13. Chapter Twelve: Not Alone

_Melanie grumbled to herself as she made her morning coffee, wincing at the noise of the machine crushing the coffee beans. It had been almost a week since she and Joel had split up and she had started having a glass of wine most nights and then suffering a hangover the next morning._

_Her cell began to ring and she let out an annoyed noise at the sound of the phone vibrating on top of the counter, "This better be important," she muttered, picking up the cell and holding it to her ear._

_"__Hello, is this Melanie Colt?"_

_Melanie frowned, "Yes, can I ask what this is about?"_

_"__I have Sarah here, she isn't feeling well and requested for you to come and pick her up? This is the receptionist at her school."_

_With-holding a sigh, Melanie ran a hand through her hair, "I'm sorry but it wouldn't be right of me to pick her up," she said, rolling her eyes at the fact she was explaining her love life to a receptionist, "her father and I aren't dating anymore and it would be…"_

_"__Awkward?" the receptionist said sympathetically, "don't worry, I have her uncle's number here. Sorry to disturb you Miss Colt."_

_Melanie ended the call and shook her head as she put the phone down, "Sarah, don't do this to me…" she murmured, feeling guilt that she wasn't going to pick her up but she knew it was for the best. Trying to put her out of her mind, Melanie began to clean her already tidy apartment and wished it wasn't her day off._

_It was around about 4pm when her door went and leaving her dusting, Melanie got up to answer it. She opened the door and felt her eyes widen slightly when she seen Sarah standing in front of her._

_"__Sarah… what- what are you doing here?" Melanie asked, frowning slightly at the young girl._

_"__We need to talk," Sarah said firmly, "you and Dad need to get back together."_

"Yoo-hoo! Fireflies? Cure for mankind over here! Anyone?"

Melanie resisted the urge to laugh at Ellie's comment while Joel just shook his head as the young girl ran ahead of them, "How 'bout we keep it down until we figure out what's going on?" he suggested, "don't wanna go attracting trouble."

Ellie rolled her eyes at Joel as they explored the inside of the building, "Was this place as run down as this when you and Tommy were here?" she asked Melanie curiously as they went further in.

"Kinda… all they were concerned about was finding a cure," Melanie said slowly, her gun in one hand just incase, "they weren't really bothered with making this place homely."

"Great… well if this is the place I'm gonna stay while they make a cure, I'm gonna have to at least put up posters and clean up," Ellie said, stopping by a large trolley filled with reports and files, "place is a fucking dump."

Sharing a look with Joel, Melanie sighed: from the looks of things there were no Fireflies here but she didn't want to be the one who said it. "Anything worth taking there?" she asked Ellie, dropping her backpack on the floor and searching through a wad of reports.

"Nah, nothing useful," Ellie said glumly, "unless we want to start a fire. Then we're golden."

Joel grumbled to himself as he picked up a report and couldn't make any sense of it, "Ain't nothin' here but a bunch of medical mumbo-jumbo," he muttered irritably.

"I don't get it," Ellie whispered, looking around the room desperately "why is there no one here?"

"Looks like they all just packed up and left in a hurry," Joel said rubbing his temple tiredly.

Melanie stretched out her back, "Well, if that's the case…" she said, wishing the pain in her lower back would go away, "maybe they've left a note or something saying where they-"

A loud noise overheard silenced them all and Melanie slowly watched the roof as the noise died down and then it was eerily quiet again. Tightening the grip on her gun, she tried to even her breathing and stop her heart from racing in her chest.

"Maybe there's still some here," Ellie whispered, looking both excited and scared, "we should go check it out."

Joel took out his shotgun and nodded, "Stay right behind me," he said glancing at them both quickly "and if I say run… run."

As they followed Joel up the stairs and out to the balcony, Melanie couldn't help but be on high alert for any trouble and found herself almost jumping at the shadows, imagining runners or worse coming out at them. It reminded her of Boston when they first arrived, break-ins happened all the time, fights even murders. She had just been glad she had Tommy and Joel with her… then Joel met Tess and everything changed.

"There are no bodies," Ellie said suddenly, dragging Melanie out of her dark memories as they stepped into the other side of the building, "that's good right?"

"If we find out where they went," Joel whispered, his eyes ahead and shotgun at the ready.

Melanie sighed softly, "Let's just hope this place is empty… I don't fancy dealing with runners or clickers today."

"I don't wanna deal with them anyday," Ellie whispered, "especially not clickers, freaky fuckers that they are."

The corridor was streaked with cables and Melanie wondered if this was the area where they did their scientific experiments, she and Tommy hadn't been allowed anywhere near incase they spread their germs or whatever. Melanie just put it down to the Fireflies being secretive. "There's still some electricity," Melanie pointed to the lamps that were on in front of them, "that's a good sign."

"Solar panels must still be working," Joel nodded, "that might come in handy."

Another crash could be heard, but this time louder and closer, "Oh shit!" Joel cursed and indicated for Ellie and Melanie to duck down. The door behind them opened and then closed shut and Melanie resisted the urge to go down and shoot whatever was making the noise.

"Um… so it's probably clickers, right?" Ellie asked in a quiet voice as Joel ducked down behind a desk.

He shook his head, "No, clickers don't hide."

"Let's just keep going," Melanie said shakily after they heard nothing else, "the sooner we get out of here, the better."

"You're right," Joel agreed, standing up but still looking warily behind them, "let's push on forward."

They headed into the next room, shielding their eyes from the bright lights and came into another classroom. While Joel and Ellie searched drawers for anything useful, Melanie spied an x-ray on the windowsill and frowned when she seen it was an x-ray of an infected's head. The distorted skull was hard to look at and she put it back down, wishing she could erase it from her memory. Had the Fireflies really been experimenting on the infected?

"Did you ever go to one of these?"

Melanie heard Ellie ask the question and kept her back to both of them while Joel looked up at Ellie in surprise from the drawer he was searching, "What? A university?"

"Yeah."

"No, no," Joel chuckled as he stopped to pick up a ragged box of ammo "not as a student at least."

"Why not?"

"Uhh… I had Sarah when I was pretty young," he said quietly, pausing as he put the ammo in his pocket, "didn't really have the time or money to go to University."

"Oh," Ellie stayed quiet for a few moments before her curiosity again got the better of her, "Were you married?"

"For a while," Joel muttered, his face growing dark.

"What happened?"

Seeing the look on his face, Melanie shook her head at the younger girl, "Okay, Ellie. That's enough questions," she said firmly.

"Too much?" Ellie asked, guessing that Joel was getting uncomfortable.

He nodded and kept his eyes on the road ahead, "Too much."

As the other two left for another room, Melanie frowned when she stepped on something hard and seen that it was a small voice recorder, glancing ahead, she seen Joel scoping out the next room and stooped to pick it up. Pressing play, she held it up to her ear and listened to the recording:

_"__We lost two more guards to infected attacks," _the male voice sounded exhausted and a little annoyed, _"they're about to go have another goddamn meeting about the safety of this lab. All of our equipment is here. All of our data is here. All the personnel have gotten used to living here. I'm gonna run another test… otherwise this incompetence will drive me insane."_

Before she could share her find with Joel, another loud noise came from behind the door in front of Melanie, looking up she seen Joel approach with his gun in his hand and his eyes narrowed onto the door.

"Get ready to shoot incase this turns sour," Joel whispered, his hand on the door handle and his eyes filled with determination.

Melanie took out her gun and nodded, "I'm ready."

Opening the door, she got a fright as she seen the cause of the noise had been another monkey raiding a bin, "Jesus!" Joel cursed as the monkey screeched at them and ran off followed by more of it's kind.

"I'm starting to get sick of these damn monkeys," Melanie muttered annoyed as she put away her gun.

Joel snorted "Well, at least it ain't clickers."

"Yeah," Instead of sounding amused, Ellie just sounded sad as she wandered slowly into the room and sighed "No Fireflies either."

Melanie shared a concerned look with Joel, "Ellie…" she started to say but the girl shook her head and forced a smile.

"Well, maybe in all that research they turned into fucking monkeys."

Joel nodded and walked into the room, beginning to search the desks "Just keep looking you two," he said "we'll find something."

Remembering the voice recorder, Melanie walked up to Joel, "I found this in the other room," she said handing it over to him, "apparently people were getting infected from their experiments and they were talking about finding a new base."

"Maybe that's why they left," Joel held the recorder up to his ear and frowned at what he heard, "damnnit, if only we got here sooner."

Melanie sighed, "I wonder how long it's been since they left?"

"Hey, guys," Ellie said, walking over with the tape recorder, "I've found another one of these things. It seems like a Firefly was recording himself."

Joel took the other one as well and hit the play button, "Maybe he can tell us more about what happened here," he muttered.

_"__That's four palettes of lab equipment all packed up and ready to go. Now – big question is what do we do with all you guys," _the man sighed and the three survivors could hear the chattering of the monkeys in the background, "_They say that the tainted batch needs to be put down. You know what I say? I say screw that. Who made a bigger sacrifice than you right? If anyone deserves to run free out there it's- HEY! EASY!" _there was the sound of a struggle and Melanie looked up at Joel uneasily "_Agh, shit! Oh no… it bit me. Oh my god…"_

The voice recorder clicked off and Melanie looked warily at the door that the monkeys had escaped through, "How about we stay clear of those things?" she said weakly, "I'll never trust those little shits."

"I'm sure glad we didn't mess with them monkeys," Joel muttered, putting the voice recorder down on the desk, "it could've turned nasty."

Ellie looked a little worried, "He… he didn't say where they went," she whispered.

Putting a hand on her shoulder, Joel gave her a comforting smile "We'll be fine… don't worry about it."

Finding another door, Melanie and Ellie stepped back as Joel shoved his shoulder against it to move the desk out of the way. Hearing Joel curse under his breath, Melanie stepped into yet another abandoned classroom and seen the skeletal remains of a body sitting back on a chair. A small gust of wind blew through the open window and she sighed: another dead end. Literally.

"Maybe he recorded something useful on that," Melanie said, trying to stay positive, "might explain where the Fireflies went."

Joel rolled his eyes "I doubt it," he muttered but picked it up regardless.

_"__If you're looking for the Fireflies… they've all left."_

Ellie scoffed as she flipped through a book, "Yeah, no shit."

_"__I'm dead… or I will be soon. Got me some time to reflect-" _making an impatient noise, Joel fast forwarded through the man's recording and ignored the frown from Melanie _"-been years that felt like we were…" _the voice made a high pitched warbling as Joel continued to fast forward, _"-fucking thing was a giant waste of ti-…. __**Not**__ gonna do this anymore."_

Melanie tried to take the recorder off of the impatient Joel but he held it out of her reach, "Will it kill you to listen to the whole recording?" she asked angrily with her hands on her hips, "You might have missed something important!"

"A dying man's ramblings is a waste of our time," Joel told her heatedly "I just wanna know where the fucking Fireflies are."

Ellie glanced between them both, "Don't argue… please?" she asked sounding tired, "Been a shitty enough day without the two of you going at it."

_"… __looking for the others, they've all returned to Saint Mary's Hospital in Salt Lake City. You'll find them there,"_ Ellie looked at Melanie and Joel with hope in her eyes as the voice on the recorder laughed bitterly _"they're still trying to save the world. Good luck with that."_

Irritated, Joel flung the recorder to the floor and ran a hand through his hair, "Do you know where that is?" Ellie asked him, raising an eyebrow slightly, "Or are you just taking your anger out on that thing?"

"I know the city," Joel answered, ignoring her other comment.

Melanie sighed as she leaned against the counter, "Salt Lake City isn't exactly close," she said softly, "and we're running out of supplies as it is."

"Well, we are on horseback, so that'll…" Joel stopped and frowned at something over Melanie's shoulder.

Ellie gave him a worried look, "What?"

Melanie was about to turn to see what had captured Joel's attention when he suddenly pulled her and Ellie to the ground, "Get down!" he ordered just as a bullet burst through the window pane, Melanie shook a little knowing if their attackers had remained unnoticed, she would have been shot dead.

_Sarah sat moodily on Melanie's couch as she watched the older woman make a call, "I can't believe you're phoning my dad on me," she muttered, folding her arms, "so not cool."_

_"__I am not phoning your father," Melanie sighed, hoping that Tommy would pick up even if he saw that it was her number, "that would be too awkward, I'm phoning your uncle to come pick you up."_

_Sitting forward, Sarah frowned "It wouldn't __**be**__ awkward if you guys just got back together._

_"__It's not that simple Sarah," Melanie said closing her eyes and wishing for the younger girl to stop talking about her and Joel and was thankful when Tommy picked up the phone, "Tommy? Hey, it's Mel. I need you to come pick up Sarah. She stopped by and- oh? Oh… she gave you the slip did she?" she turned and narrowed her eyes at the younger girl, who averted her eyes and stared at the floor, "well, she's fine. Must have got the bus or something. Okay, see you soon."_

_Putting down her cell, Melanie looked at the younger girl and felt sympathy for her: first her mom abandons her and then her dad's girlfriend who she liked. "Sarah, you can't just run out on your Uncle Tommy like that," Melanie said softly, coming to sit next to her on the couch, "he was really worried and was gonna phone the police."_

_"__I just needed to talk to you," Sarah muttered, picking at a hole in the couch, "dad won't tell me what happened and I wanna know."_

_Running a hand through her hair, Melanie didn't know whether or not to tell Sarah the truth… "Your dad is upset because… because it was me that ended things," a lie would be easier, she didn't want Joel to be the bad guy, he didn't deserve it, "I wanted excitement in my life and… your dad wasn't giving me that so… so I found someone who did."_

_"__You… you cheated on dad?" Sarah asked, her eyes widening "I can't believe you would do that!"_

_"__I'm sorry…"_

_Standing up, Sarah glared at the woman "And to think I was giving him a hard time, thinking that __**he**__ was the one who ruined things! I can't believe I liked you!"_

_"__Now you know…" Melanie said quietly looking down at the ground, "so I… I don't want you coming by anymore, okay?"_

_"__Don't worry I won't…" Sarah spat angrily, "I hate you!"_

_There was a knocking at the door and Tommy opened it and came in, "There ya are," he said relieved "don't go doin' that to me again, ya hear?" _

_"__I won't __**ever**__ be coming 'round here again," Sarah sounded close to tears and Melanie looked up guiltily._

_"__Sarah-" Melanie began to say but the younger girl just ran out of her apartment while Tommy looked confused._

_"__What the hell is going on?" Tommy seen how upset Melanie looked and frowned, "You okay?"_

_Swallowing the lump in her throat, Melanie nodded, "Yeah… I'm okay," she said, hoping he was convinced, "can you do me a favour and not tell Joel about this? I don't wanna give him anymore grief."_

_"__Sure thing…" Tommy said slowly and then shrugged "well, I'd better get her home and fed before Joel comes home. I'll… I'll maybe see you around 'Mel."_

_As he left, Melanie covered her face and let out a shaky sigh – she really needed a wine now._

A/N

So SO sorry for really long gaps between chapters but I felt no inspiration to write after working so many bloody hours but wrote one tonight and hope you like.

Next chapter will be filled with angst and maybe a little more action with Melanie and Joel? Hmm, we'll see. Leave a review and tell me what you think. I love hearing reader's opinions.

~ BSI


	14. Chapter Thirteen: Blood Loss

_It seemed like every day was getting a little harder and Melanie couldn't help but feel more and more depressed as the days passed. She would go to work, come home, eat and then sleep and the next day it would happen all over again. Unless Lucy and Garrett came around claiming the boys missed their aunt when really they were checking up on her, making sure she hadn't done anything stupid. _

_One week Lucy had actually removed the pills from the bathroom cabinet._

_Melanie was just pondering on what she should make for her dinner when the front door opened and then shut again, she rolled her eyes and without looking knew it was her sister: no one else just waltzed in without asking._

_"__Hey, oh good you're in," Lucy said smiling at her sister. Thankfully she didn't have the kids with her, as much as Melanie loved them, she really just wanted a quiet day after a busy day at the zoo yesterday. The twins had asked questions non-stop about what the baboons had been doing and none of the adults had answered them._

_"__Two check-up's in one week and it's only Wednesday," Melanie said almost sarcastically as she pulled out a box of cereal and decided on that for her dinner, "I am a lucky girl."_

_Making a face, Lucy sat down at the breakfast bar "Don't be like that, I'm allowed to be worried about you," she said softly, watching as Melanie stood opposite her and poured milk into the bowl, "I know how you felt about Joel. You're not gonna just be over him like that."_

_"__Thank you for reminding me."_

_Lucy sighed, "Okay, bad start to the conversation," she ran a hand through her hair and almost looked embarrassed, "when dad first got ill and mom ran off… you were the one who held this family together, even though I was the oldest-"_

_"__Why you bringing all this up?" Melanie interrupted putting her spoon back in the bowl, "First my failed relationship and then dad dying? You trying to make me even more depressed?"_

_"__Just listen!" Lucy scowled and then took her hand in hers, "You stayed and helped him through the last years… while I went off and got married and had kids. I got to go out there and do stuff and you didn't. You never became a teacher, never went travelling… you sacrificed your dreams for our family and I can never thank you for that."_

_Melanie frowned a little, "What are you getting at 'Luce?"_

_"__I want you to have this," Lucy said, letting go of her hand and taking out an envelope from her bag, "well, me, Garrett and the boys want you to have this."_

_Feeling confused as she opened the envelope, Melanie was stunned when she seen a cheque and how much it was for, "Fucking hell, Lucy… you can't be serious?"_

_"__I am," Lucy smiled "Garrett's got his promotion and we're doing really good so don't think we're gonna go out of pocket," she bit her lip, "I always felt terrible you were stuck in this fuckin' town with that shit job at the bar. I want you to become a teacher… or go on holiday and see the world," she added softly, "or use it to do up this place or get a boob job, whatever! As long as it's something for you and will make you happy."_

_Melanie shook her head slowly and felt tears growing in her eyes, "You… you are without a doubt the best sister any gal could ask for," she whispered, leaning over and hugging Lucy tightly, "I can't believe you're doing this for me."_

_"__You're the best baby sister and person in this whole damn world," Lucy whispered back, tightening her hold on her, "and it's about time you had some fun. Life's too short."_

Hiding behind the counter, the three survivors heard their attackers shouting at one another and Melanie knew they only had a short amount of time before they made it up the stairs, "Who the hell are these guys?" Ellie hissed, her gun in her hands already, "Why the hell are they shooting at us?"

"It doesn't matter," Joel muttered, thinking hard as he grabbed his weapon, "We know where to go. Let's get the hell outta here."

Sneaking out into the room, Melanie followed Joel closely while making sure Ellie was covered. Listening carefully, they heard a male voice calling out to them, "Where are you, you fuckers!" he shouted, his footsteps becoming louder and louder as he got closer.

"Take cover!" Joel hissed and Melanie and Ellie hid behind a desk while Joel got out his pistol.

The stranger only took two steps into the room before Joel killed him with a headshot, barely flinching as the dead body hit the floor. Another came in but this time Melanie got him in the chest, hitting the heart straight on and he fell to the floor gurgling blood as he died.

"They're barely armed," Melanie noticed, straightening up "bats and a crowbar… they must be just scoping the place out."

Joel nodded and searched them quickly for anything useful, "Well, we know some are armed… just gotta get them first before they get us."

Heading back the way they came, the trio didn't have long to wait before several bandits appeared at the end of the corridor and Melanie felt slightly panicked when she seen they were heavily outnumbered. "Shit…" she whispered, "better make every shot count!"

"Not necessarily," Joel replied, quickly searching his pack "get behind a thick table and I mean a _thick_ one."

"What are you-"

Ellie shook her head and dragged her behind one, "Trust me, you don't need to watch this," the younger girl muttered, "It gets really messy."

Curious, Melanie watched as Joel got out a tin that rattled slightly and threw it towards the bandits. It only took a moment before her unasked question was answered and she heard a loud explosion and the yells of pain from the group of bandits. Standing up, she felt sickened when she seen it was a nail bomb and it had shredded most of them or just impaled them with nails.

"Where the hell did you get that from?" she asked as Joel urged them to hurry into the next room.

"Bill," he answered, glancing over his shoulder at her, "he's had a lot of time to make some new weapons."

"Looks like he has."

In the next room there were two men scouting and Melanie knew that if they shouted out, then who knows how many bandits would be on them. "We'll take them out stealth style," Joel whispered quietly to her, "you take the one in here and I'll go after that one. Ellie, you stay behind me and be my back up. Got it?"

"I won't let anything happen," Ellie promised, looking only a little scared, "I swear."

Getting out her knife from the holster on her thigh, Melanie nodded "Let's go."

Watching as they left into the other room, Melanie gripped the knife tightly in her hands and waited a couple of minutes before picking up a bit of debris and throwing it into the corner to catch the guard's attention. Kneeling down, Melanie watched as the man walked forwards into the room and didn't see her as he walked past, his gun on the door in front of him searching for the source of the noise.

Making sure there was no one else around, Melanie gritted her teeth and straightened up with her knife in her hands.

"Fuck you!" she hissed as she stuck it into his neck and felt his warm blood gush over her hand as she hit the artery. Making a choking noise, he fell to his knees and dropped his gun as he tried to stop the blood flowing from his neck. He died quite quickly and Melanie grabbed his weapon and searched him quickly for anything useful.

She was surprised when there was directions scribbled on a map and a note from someone called David written on the back of it:

_Kill any survivors unless they are women and children, bring back any supplies you can find. The colony needs it._

Frowning, she wondered if there was another settlement near to the university when the sound of gunshots below her could be heard and she cursed as she dropped the map and got to her feet quickly. Hoping that Joel and Ellie weren't in any danger, she rushed down the stairs past the corpses and looked around desperately for the other two.

Hearing glass shatter and a cry of agony, Melanie ran to the balcony railings after seeing a part of the glass panelling missing and felt her blood run cold as she seen Joel lying on the ground with a pained expression on his face. "Oh fuck!" she whispered and climbed quickly down to the lower level and sprinted towards Joel as soon as her feet touched the ground, "Fuck…fuck…_fuck_!"

"Oh shit, is he okay?" Ellie asked from the second floor and quickly began to climb down as well.

Melanie fell to her knees and felt sick as she seen the sharp pole jutted out from Joel's stomach: it had pierced straight through his body. "SHIT!" Joel cursed as he tried to move off of the pole.

"Stay still, stay still," Melanie began to panic and tried to think of what they should do as Ellie ran towards them, "Oh shit!"

As they heard raised voices, Ellie looked to Melanie desperately "What do you want me to do?"

"Help me get him off of this," Melanie said weakly, sliding her hand under Joel's back as Ellie did the same on his other side, "he needs to get up!"

"…Move…." Joel's breathing became laboured and Melanie fought back the urge to cry.

Ellie shook a little as they tried to lift him, "Don't worry Joel, we're gonna move you-"

"MOVE!" Joel shouted and pushed Ellie out of the way as two more bandits came crashing through the door but they didn't get far as Joel quickly shot both in the head before they could take a step nearer the trio.

Once Melanie had gotten over the shock, she looked at Ellie, "I'm gonna need you to pull him forward while I push," she said quickly, "he's losing a lot of blood. He won't be able to sit up himself."

"Alright… alright," Ellie sounded scared but she took Joel's hands in hers and readied herself, "on the count of three…one…two…three!"

The sound that Joel made as they pushed and pulled him off of the pole ripped through Melanie and she felt her heart break for her ex-lover as she couldn't imagine the pain he was feeling. As they got him to his feet, she slipped his arm around her neck and steadied on him, "Lean on me Joel and no arguing," she said firmly as he looked ready to object, "We need to get you bandaged up quickly!"

"Just…get to the damn horses," He muttered holding his stomach with one hand, applying pressure to the wound.

Ellie lead them, checking the corridors carefully with her gun out, her hands covered in Joel's blood, "I don't see anyone," she said shakily, "let's go!"

They made their way quickly and quietly to where they had left the horses and Melanie just hoped that they hadn't bolted, "Joel, how you doin'?" she whispered, glancing at him worriedly as he stumbled a little.

"I'm fine… I'm fine."

Looking around, Melanie felt frustrated when she seen the door blocked, "FUCK!" she cursed loudly, "How the hell are we meant to get out now?"

"Here, the glass is all gone," Ellie pointed out and pushed away a plank of wood, "do you think he can handle the window?"

Before Melanie could answer, Joel let out a groan, "I'm sure…I can," he said slowly, his breathing very heavy and Ellie gave him a concerned look.

"Okay, I'll go first and help him through," the young girl said and jumped over the broken window into the next room.

Melanie carefully helped Joel over but he cried out in agony and fell to the ground, "Shit!" she immediately climbed over and kneeled by him, "Are you okay?"

"Jesus… there's so much blood," Ellie whispered, her eyes widening at her guardian, "c'mon Joel, move!"

The sound of a gun being fired pierced the air and Melanie let out a cry as it tore through her arm, falling to her knees she seen Joel collapse beside her as he and Ellie took cover behind the counters, "I see you!" the man shouted from the door, "I see you, you fucking bitch!"

"C'mon man!"

Melanie pushed hard against her wound and felt her shoulder desperately, hoping for an exit wound, she really didn't need a bullet lodged in her body. Her arm burned with an intense pain, and pretty soon her jumper was wet and sticky with her blood as well as her hand. Feeling nothing, she hoped the bullet had gone straight through and focussed on the matter at hand, "Just stay here!" she heard Ellie whisper as her vision blurred a little, "I'm gonna flank these assholes!"

"Ellie…" Joel whispered but the young girl had already sneaked off.

Melanie felt her arm begin to tingle and tried not to gasp out loud in pain as she failed to lift it a little to aim her gun: worry began to settle in: it was her shooting arm that had been shot.

"Those were _my_ friends you killed, asshole."

The man's voice was getting closer and Melanie shared a look with Joel, breathing heavily, he took her hand in his and shook his head, raising his own gun a little, "I… I got it," he whispered.

"Come on out! The two of you! You wanna do this the hard way?"

Hearing a pistol shot, the man hissed in pain "You little bitch!" he snarled and fired his own gun.

Leaning around, Joel shot him quickly in the back of the head and he fell down in a heap. Struggling to sit up on her own, Melanie felt her heart stop as she didn't hear anything, "Ellie?" she called out and felt relief when Ellie came running towards them.

"Fuck! You're both covered in blood," she said anxiously, "We need to get outta here and away from these assholes."

Melanie grimaced in pain as her arm wouldn't stop throbbing in pain, "You're gonna have to do the shooting sweetie," she said through gritted teeth, "my arms fucked right now."

"That's okay, I can do this," Ellie said bravely and helped Joel to his feet, "Come on, I got ya…"

Joel slowly got to his feet and panted with the exertion, blood still dripping from his wound "I'm…I'm okay…"

"You're _not_ okay Joel," Ellie snapped, as Melanie put an arm around his waist, "Now come on!"

Almost stumbling with every step, Melanie felt Joel leaning heavily on her as they followed Ellie, "Move it!" Ellie said, trying to sound firm but Melanie could hear the undertone of fear in her voice, "We're almost there."

"Hear that Joel," Melanie said trying to keep him conscious "your girls barking out orders already. She's been around you for too long."

He chuckled weakly and nodded "She's already telling bad jokes…" he coughed suddenly and Melanie seen more blood come pouring out his wound, "Mel… if you need to leave me…"

"That ain't fuckin' happening!" Melanie hissed, tightening her grip on him, "we're getting out of here. All of us!"

Ellie stood at the doorway in front of them with her gun outstretched and shook her head, "There's no one here. Hurry!"

"We're gonna get you bandaged up and you'll be back to normal in no time," Melanie whispered, trying more to reassure herself more than Joel as she felt like crying at their hopeless situation, "trust me on that."

"You gonna… wear… a nurse's outfit…" Joel asked weakly, using the wall to steady himself, "you… suit that… look."

"Really? That kind of talk when this is happening?" Melanie laughed a little and felt the tears threatening to fall, "It was a zombie nurse outfit for Halloween, not a sexy one."

"You looked… good."

Glancing over her shoulder at them as they got closer to the entrance, Ellie nodded, "That's right Joel, you're doin' good!" she said reassuringly, not hearing their all of their conversation, "you can do it."

"I'm… coming."

"Through these double doors and the horses should be nearby," Melanie said feeling hopeful that they might just make it out of here alive, "don't worry-"

She stopped talking as Joel fell to his feet, his face had lost all colour and he was barely keeping his eyes open, "Oh man, here lean on me too," Ellie cried out and ran back to help Melanie get him to his feet, "come on, I can help-"

"No!" Joel coughed up some more blood and looked at Ellie, "Lead the... Way!"

Ellie looked torn between arguing with him and trying to help him walk but shook her head, "Well fucking walk then!" she snapped angrily, "Stop falling to the ground!"

Melanie was just glad when Joel didn't push her away and allowed her to help, "Hey, there's the exit," she said quickly, pointing it out to Ellie, "Just a little bit more, come on!"

"Behind you!"

Melanie had to push Joel down behind the desk as bullets nearly missed them, she heard Ellie firing as the bandits shouted out, "THE KIDS GOT A GUN!"

"Shit..!" Melanie took out her gun and awkwardly held it in her left hand, she tried to aim and shoot for the other bandit but was unable to pull the trigger all the way back. Ellie suddenly froze as her own gun clicked empty and the bandit began to run towards her.

"Oh shit! Oh SHIT!" Ellie cursed as she frantically tried to reload but it was too late and the bandit hit her hard in the face making her fall back.

Screwing up her face in pain, Melanie raised her other hand and ignored the pain in her arm as she managed to pull the trigger and kill the bandit before he swung his crowbar down onto Ellie's head. Letting out a gasp, she felt her arm flare up in pain again and it began to pulsate with searing hot pain before growing numb.

"Melanie… you okay?" Ellie asked quickly, her cheek beginning to redden from the attack, "Oh shit, you're pale as fuck!"

"Let's just get him to the horses," Melanie replied weakly, to the barely conscious Joel, "I think it's gonna take the both of us to get him out of here."

As they lifted him up together, Ellie shook her head as they headed towards the doors "I swear to god, I get you out of this Joel, you're so singing for me!"

"You wish," Joel said faintly as he chuckled a little at the young girl. His breath was heavily laboured and Melanie tried hard not to think of how much blood he had lost.

They stopped at a desk by the door and Ellie slowly helped Joel to lean against it, "You two wait here," she said quickly, running towards the glass panelled doors, "I'll hold these open."

"Okay sweetie, but hurry," Melanie could practically hear the fear in her voice and wished she could take it back after seeing the immense worry in Ellie's eyes.

Managing to get through the door, Joel fell forward and out of the next set of doors before Melanie could get a hold of him. He rolled down the stone steps and Ellie and Melanie quickly followed him. Glancing up as she fell to his side, Melanie seen another bandit trying to take Callus and felt her heart drop when she seen that Red was nowhere in sight: he must have bolted.

"What the fuck?" the bandit shouted, the horse's reigns in his hands before he could do anything, Ellie had fired her gun and he fell beside Callus who hadn't bolted at the noise and instead stood still, his ears pointing towards Ellie as she rushed to Joel's other side.

"Come on, we need to get you up," Ellie said quickly, "it's getting fucking dark."

Joel grimaced as he shook his head, "Just… get the horse," he muttered and Ellie ran towards Callus.

Melanie swallowed down a sob and looked down at Joel's face and cupped his cheek tenderly, "Don't you dare die on me," she whispered, his eyes fixed on hers, "you hear me Joel?"

"I hear you…" he whispered back, his hand resting on hers as he looked sadly into her eyes, "I hear you Mel…"

_Melanie stood outside the travel agents and glanced at the deals in the window, with the amount of money that Lucy had given her, she could easily afford a five star hotel but she looked at the euro train ticket and seen all the places it would take her and felt more tempted to do that and see more of the world rather than just one fancy ass hotel's view of the sea._

_Too lost in thought, she didn't hear someone stop behind her until they put a hand on her arm, "Melanie?"_

_Jumping, Melanie felt her mouth go dry when she turned and seen a serious looking Joel standing behind her. "Oh you made me jump," she said, averting her eyes and pretending to fix her hair, "thanks for that."_

_"__Going on a trip?" Joel asked, his eyes on the window as Melanie quickly glanced at him._

_"__Thinking about it…" she said quietly, wishing she didn't feel so awkward around Joel, "Lucy gave me some money and told me to do something for me. Always wanted to go travelling," she added wistfully, looking at the pictures of the sights in Prague, Italy and Amsterdam, "figured I might as well do it if I have the money."_

_Joel nodded and leant against the stone wall beside the window, "As well you should," he said quietly, looking at her intensely, "about time you started thinking about yourself."_

_"__How… how are you doin'?" Melanie asked suddenly, surprised by her own question, "Work going okay?"_

_He nodded in response but she could tell something else was on his mind, "Sarah told me something surprising the other week," he said slowly, his hazel eyes on hers, "about why we split up."_

_"__Oh…" Melanie didn't like where the conversation was going and looked quickly at her watch, "…shoot, I am late for my shift at the bar. Sorry Joel, I gotta go-"_

_"__Why did you say that?" Joel asked quietly, ignoring her lie "Why did you make yourself out to be the bad guy?"_

_Shoulders slumping in defeat, Melanie ran a hand through her hair "I didn't want her taking it out on you…" she admitted, looking at him, "it's not your fault that… things ended the way they did and… and she came around to mine asking questions and telling me to get back together with you and I… I couldn't admit the truth to her."_

_"__And what was that?"_

_Melanie was silent as she hugged herself tightly and it was a few moments before she answered him, "That having you and her in my life wasn't enough for me," she whispered, meeting his eyes, "just saying it in my mind made me sound so selfish and cruel and I was ashamed to admit to her that we split up because I wanted a baby and a white dress and you didn't."_

_"__So instead you tell her that you cheated on me?" Joel asked raising an eyebrow but he also looked guilty at her words._

_"__To be fair, I had been drinking that whole week," Melanie said giving him a weak smile, "I just said the first thing that came to my mind… at least I didn't say it was because I was a lesbian."_

_Joel laughed at her comment and shook his head, "Yeah... She would have been telling everyone I was the one who made you like girls," he said quietly and then sighed, "She knows the truth now. I couldn't let her keep thinking you were this horrible person. You deserved more than that," he added sincerely._

_"__Thanks…" Melanie felt the overwhelming urge to beg him to take her back but she bit her lip and forced the notion down, "well, I guess I better get in there and plan my trip, huh?"_

_"__Yeah… you have a good one, you hear?" Joel said, straightening up as he smiled at her, "You deserve it."_

_Melanie nodded, "See you around Joel."_

_"__Wait…"_

_Pausing with her hand on the door, ready to open it, Melanie glanced back at Joel and seen a conflicted look on his face, "For what it's worth… it'll always be you," he said tenderly "I just wanted you to know that."_

_"__Right back atcha," Melanie said, hating how wobbly her voice sounded, "Next lifetime, okay?"_

_Joel nodded and gave her one last smile, "Next lifetime."_


	15. Chapter Fourteen: Hunted

_"__Will there be strippers?"_

_Melanie rolled her eyes at Lucy's question as she opened up the bar, "Seriously? That's your question?" she asked, glancing over her shoulder at her sister as she turned on the lights, "Not, how much am I getting paid? Or, when do I finish? But if there's going to be strippers?"_

_It was Charlene's sister's hen party in the bar tonight and as there was a lot of them going, Chuck had opened the bar just for the hen party and had been made to promise he wouldn't arrive at the bar as it was girls only. As Charlene would be attending, Lucy offered to work that night to cover as Daisy was going as well and Melanie had her suspicions of the real reason Lucy wanted to work that night._

_"__I am stuck in a house with __**men**__ every day," Lucy whined as she put down the box of decorations, "I never get to do anything fun. Getting my new bra measurements was the most exciting thing I done last week. That's how sad my life is now. Just let me have this. Please?"_

_Snorting at her comment, Melanie shook her head, "Is this you having a dig at me for not organizing a stripper for your hen party?"_

_"__No… but now that you've brought it up, when you think about it, technically, you owe me a stripper."_

_Melanie rolled her eyes but nodded, "If Charlene's sister is anything like her there will probably be a stripper for every table."_

_"__Oh! That's what I want to hear!" Lucy said excitedly and then took off her coat, revealing a short top showing off her cleavage that made Melanie raise her eyebrows: her sister hadn't dressed like this since they were young. _

_"__Nice top," Melanie commented, and couldn't help but look down at her black jumper that barely showed off her chest. _

_Lucy grinned, "I finally have a night to dress like a girl and not have yoghurt or sick down my front," she said giving a small twirl, "don't get me wrong, I love being a mother and a wife but you need the odd night of freedom for the sake of your sanity."_

_"__You do know that you'll be serving drinks and then helping to clean up right?" Melanie asked, as she opened the till and sorted out the float, "You won't actually be participating in the party."_

_"__I can still watch right?"_

_"__Yes, you can still watch."_

_"__Then it will be an amazing night!"_

_Melanie was about to say something when she suddenly could taste bile in her throat and felt sick. Covering her mouth, she ignored Lucy's concerned look and ran into the staff toilet behind the bar where she was horribly sick. She felt Lucy's cool hands on her neck as she held back her hair, it was several moments of retching and throwing up before Melanie felt like she could stand again._

_"__I do not know where that came from," Melanie whispered, weakly wiping her mouth with a tissue and making a disgusted face as she flushed the toilet, "Maybe that burrito I had at lunch wasn't good?"_

_When her sister didn't reply, Melanie looked up at her and seen the way she was looking at her. _

_"__Lucy?"_

_"__I had the same thing as you and I feel fine," Lucy actually sounded serious and she narrowed her eyes at her, "Are your boobs tender?"_

_Melanie frowned at the question but thought to this morning where she was sore when she was getting dressed, "Yeah but… I wore my bra for a long time the other day-"_

_"__You were really tired this morning."_

_"__I've been working a lot!"_

_"__And you're smelling everything."_

_Shaking her head, Melanie grabbed a plastic cup and ran the cold water to fill it up, "I don't think there was anyone who couldn't smell that guy's cologne. It was putrid."_

_"__And you're being sick," Lucy sounded sympathetic as she watched Melanie rinse out her mouth and spit out the water, "I think you know what I'm gonna say 'sis."_

_Even though she did know, Melanie felt her heartbeat increase rapidly at the thought. Saying it out loud would only make it true, "Sorry I'm not a mind reader Lucy and I really don't know what you're getting at."_

_"__I think you should take a pregnancy test," Lucy said slowly, before Melanie could say anything else there was a thud as something was dropped onto the floor and made the two women jump as they heard a male voice swearing loudly and Lucy went to the door to see who it was._

_Melanie felt worried that someone had overheard their conversation and looked desperately at Lucy, "Is someone there?"_

_Lucy sighed and nodded, "Oh fuck. Why did it have to be him?" she whispered and then looked at Melanie, "We better go out there..."_

It had been two months… or was it three? Melanie had lost count of how long they had been in the basement of this house. Colorado seemed like a lifetime ago and the events afterwards had blurred together. Practically dragging an unconscious Joel through the abandoned city and killing any clickers or runners that came out at them. It was a miracle they had survived it and Melanie knew it was because of Ellie.

Once they had found shelter, Ellie had taken on most of the responsibilities, especially the hunting. As she could easily use Joel's bow better than Melanie while her arm healed, the bullet had gone straight through but it had taken a while before she could start using her right arm again for the simplest of tasks. Melanie was so proud of Ellie, for keeping it together and despite feeling uneasy about her being out there alone, didn't coddle her at all and Ellie seemed to be thankful for that.

Their situation was shitty enough without Melanie making her doubt herself.

Melanie's main role was to look after Joel and clean his wound, the gaping hole in his stomach had been stitched up and was slowly healing but he had a nasty fever that wasn't going away without a fight. Every day, she would melt snow or icicles for water, boil it and make sure he took a little before checking his wound for infection.

She would find herself talking to him when Ellie wasn't present about everything she could think of, trying to get him to answer back or to even be conscious again. One day, she even began to talk about Sarah and their life together before the world went to shit but it was all for nothing. He remained the same and she would be alone talking to an unconscious man while waiting for a young girl on a horse to bring back the food.

Leaving Joel under many blankets, Melanie slowly walked up the stairs and into the house. It was a nice enough house and reminded her of Lucy's house… though the thought of her sister and nephews was enough to make her throat close up. She could only hope that they had found somewhere safe and somewhere out there, they were all together. Thinking of them dead or worse just broke her heart and she had cried enough over the years without starting that again.

Sitting at the table, Melanie held the coffee she had made in her hands and wondered how Maria and Tommy were getting on back at the camp. If they had managed to get electricity to the camp and were now watching movies at night and had hot water. She smiled a little at the thought of them having luxurious baths and thought of the conversation she and Maria had had all that time ago.

_"__Tommy seems to think so," Maria said thoughtfully, "it'd be good to have electricity again. Get those showers working? That would be heaven. A nice hot shower."_

_Nodding, Melanie pouted "I used to love a luxurious bath…candles…bath bombs…the whole works, y'know?"_

_"__Well, you keep an eye out when you're out on a supply run tomorrow," Maria joked "it could happen."_

Melanie sighed as she thought of Maria, she missed her terribly as well as Tommy. They had been her family for the last twenty years and to be without them was strange. Sipping her coffee, she thought of Joel downstairs and wished for what seemed to be the thousandth time that he would wake up and they could be on their way.

Not that she was looking forward to saying goodbye to Ellie, she was dreading it in fact. Despite trying not to get attached to the younger girl, she had failed miserably and now thought of her as family. Especially when Ellie would hug her tightly at night when Joel wouldn't answer her and she would comfort her before they went to sleep.

But she had agreed to do this. She would just need to soldier on and do what had to be done.

Hearing the garage door shut, Melanie quickly got up and left her cup on the table as she went back downstairs and smiled widely when she seen Ellie and Callus back. "Oh thank god," she said, sighing with relief as she went over and hugged her close, "I was getting worried."

"Didn't get anything major," Ellie said indicating to the rabbit hanging from the saddle, "not much about right now."

Melanie gave her shoulder a small squeeze as they headed into the other room where Joel was "It's better than nothing," she frowned a little when she seen a frightened expression on Ellie's face, "is everything okay?" she asked slowly, stopping suddenly, "you look a little scared."

"No… no, just some infected got close on the way back," Ellie was lying, Melanie knew it when she seen a rifle that wasn't Joel's on her back but she didn't push her for the truth, "so how's Joel been?"

Melanie glanced back to Joel's still figure under the blankets, "Doing just the same really," she said sadly, hugging herself "he took a little water and his wound is still clean but without medicine I can't really do much else for him."

"Yeah well, bunny aside… I also found some medicine," Ellie said triumphantly, holding up the small syringe and the antibiotics, "this should help, right?"

Feeling her eyebrows raise in surprise, Melanie nodded "It will really fuckin' help," she said quickly, walking over to Joel's side and kneeling down, "here, you inject it into him and I'll hold his arm back."

Ellie did as she said and to Melanie's relief, Joel mumbled something incoherently as Ellie injected the medicine into him and winced slightly. "Sorry…" Ellie mumbled softly, giving her guardian a tender look, "but it's gonna help. I promise."

Melanie watched sadly as Ellie felt Joel's forehead and smiled at him, "You're gonna make it," she said confidently "I know you will. You'll be back to your old grumpy self in no time."

Shivering slightly, Joel turned his head towards Ellie before breathing a little better as he slept. "You must be exhausted," Melanie said softly and got up to drag over the sleeping bag they had found, "get some rest, I'll keep watch."

"You sure?" Ellie asked but yawned straight after and rubbed her eyes tiredly.

Nodding, Melanie handed her a small bottle filled with water "You've been out hunting practically every day. You've earned it kiddo," she said and pushed Ellie's hair back as she smiled at her, "I'm so proud of you… you know that right?"

"Yeah… I know," Ellie said softly and suddenly looked guilty, "thanks… for being here. I feel better knowing I have you here too, 'Mel," she glanced at Joel and bit her lip, "I don't think I could have done this on my own."

"I don't think you're giving yourself enough credit," Melanie said firmly, "you're braver than most adults I know. Don't forget that," she stopped and glanced down at Joel, "saying that – you've had a good teacher for the last few months."

Ellie looked between the two of them and reached out to take Melanie's hand, "I've had _two_ good teachers," she said sincerely "I don't think you're giving _yourself_ enough credit."

Squeezing her hand back, Melanie nodded "Okay… we're both kick-ass and we know it," she joked and watched as Ellie lay down in the sleeping bag, "I'll come wake you up if I see anything, okay?"

Ellie settled down but still looked uneasy, "I… I heard some voices when I was out hunting," she murmured, "just be extra careful looking out for some bad guys okay?"

"I will… don't worry," Melanie promised and seen Ellie reach out and gently lay her hand on Joel's chest, "get some sleep. I'll speak to you soon."

Leaving the two of them, Melanie ran a hand through her hair and wondered what the hell had happened in the woods to make Ellie so on edge. Knowing that she would tell her sooner rather than later, Melanie pushed it to the back of her mind and went to the kitchen window first to keep an eye out.

The medicine that Ellie found would hopefully work some wonders on Joel and maybe even have him conscious. She just hoped that they would be able to find some more medicine out there and that this area hadn't been searched already and picked clean.

Melanie kept watch for most of the night, taking only a short break as she dozed on the couch, she never slept more than a few hours as she would jump awake, convinced that she could hear infected and switched windows when she woke up. Once, she checked in on Ellie and Joel and smiled as they slept soundly next to each other. Callus had reluctantly laid down on the large duvets that Ellie had put down for his comfort and had went to sleep too.

For the first time since they got here, Melanie started to feel some of her hope return as the sun rose high in the winter sky and wondered if they would soon be leaving this place.

But that hope quickly evaporated when she suddenly heard male voices on the wind.

Putting one hand on her gun, she bent down and made her way to the window and felt her eyes widen as she seen four men begin to search the houses at the end of the street. "Shit…" she muttered and made her way to the basement and seen that Ellie was awake and on top of the washing machine looking out the window.

"Oh fuck…" she cursed quietly, "they tracked me."

Melanie frowned at her, "They? Who's they?"

"Some guys that found me in the woods… long story short, we killed their friends at the university and they ain't fucking happy about it," Ellie explained, giving Melanie a sad look, "I should have told you… but I didn't wanna worry you. I'm sorry."

Closing her eyes, Melanie covered her face and tried to think of a plan, "We can't move Joel… he's too weak," she said quietly opening her eyes again, "and they're already searching houses…"

"I'll draw them away from here," Ellie said suddenly, "they don't know about you or Joel… I'll ride Callus past them and make them chase me, I'll lose them in the woods and then make sure they can't track me."

Melanie shook her head, "No. It's too dangerous, they know you've been here and they'll just come back again-"

"What other choice do we have?" Ellie interrupted and glared at the older woman, "We haven't got enough ammo to kill them all… we're gonna have to be smart about taking them out. You stay here and defend Joel… I'll get as many as I can in the woods."

"I don't like this."

"Neither do I but it's the only way," Ellie stopped and sighed "they're getting closer – I better go get Callus up."

Melanie felt her heart stop as she heard the voices get nearer and watched silently as Ellie quickly went to Joel's side and squeezed his hand tightly, "I'll come back…" she promised "I'll come back Joel, don't worry about me."

Biting her lip in an effort to stop herself from crying, Melanie followed Ellie into the next room and held open the garage door as she and Callus went through, the horse seeming to be reluctant to go back out into the cold and neighed nervously.

"Be careful out there… and get back here as soon as you can," Melanie said, her voice hitching slightly as Ellie turned to look at her, "Promise me, you'll be careful."

"I will… I promise," Ellie said and then climbed up on Callus and took the reins in her hands, "take care of Joel… don't let them get to him, okay?"

Melanie nodded and watched as the horse and Ellie began to walk away, "Don't let them get to you…" she whispered, closing the door even though everything in her was screaming at her to go with Ellie and protect her, "I can't lose you too…"

_"__When I heard you talking about sickness and tiredness and… sore boobs… I just thought it was girl talk but then I hear the words 'pregnancy test'…"_

_Melanie sighed as Tommy slightly freaked out in front of her, "Tommy, look… it's just a hunch of Lucy's… I'm probably not pregnant-"_

_"__The signs are there… I just pointed them out," Lucy muttered, cutting up some limes for tonight while Melanie scowled at her, "the test will prove I'm right."_

_"__I'm sorry but do you __**want**__ me to be pregnant?"_

_Tommy made an exasperated noise and ran a hand through his hair, "Oh fuck… I've gotta tell Joel."_

_"__No!" Melanie turned quickly and looked at Tommy, "Nobody tells Joel nothing until… until there's __**something**__ to tell him," she muttered awkwardly._

_Lucy stopped and put the knife down and sighed sadly, "Melanie… I know you must be scared if you are-"_

_"__Why? Why would I be scared?" Melanie asked sarcastically, "Would it be because I split up with Joel for not wanting children with me and a couple of weeks after we do, I __**might**__ be pregnant with someone who wouldn't want this… this baby?" she pressed her lips together, "And I would have to raise it on my own? Yeah, I suppose that is a good reason to be scared."_

_Frowning, Lucy came around the bar and put her hands on Melanie's shoulders, making her look at her straight in the eyes "Hey, you won't be alone if you are pregnant," she said firmly, "I'm actually offended that you would even think that. Family sticks together and you will have me and Garrett beside you every step of the way. You hear me?"_

_"__Trust me 'Mel," Tommy said quietly as Melanie wiped her eyes "Joel would be by your side 110%... he wouldn't run away from this. Even though it was unexpected. He's a good guy."_

_Lucy nodded, "So you see, if you are… you know… __**expecting**__. Then you won't be alone," she smiled and cupped her sister's cheek, "Now, how about we forget about you being sick and tired and having sore boobs and focus on having a fun night, huh?"_

_"__That sounds good," Melanie said weakly, "we can figure this out tomorrow, right?"_

_"__Right… and Tommy won't breathe a word about this to Joel until we know for definite," Lucy said narrowing her eyes at him, "isn't that right?"_

_Tommy sighed but nodded slowly, "I won't get involved… just… just no drinking tonight, okay?" he added, giving Melanie a glance, "you could be carrying my nephew or niece and I don't want them coming out all small and deformed because you had a drink."_

_"__Don't worry, I won't…" Melanie snorted and smiled at Tommy, "just the smell of tequila is making me ill."_

_Lucy nodded "Tomorrow, you can take a test and then we'll just take it all one step at a time after that."_

_"__I think that's for the best," Melanie said quietly and then ran both her hands through her hair, "come on, we should get these decorations out. Make sure every table has some of these necklace shot glasses and penis straws, okay? Oh and some of the fake $1 bills for the strippers."_

_Tommy closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, "I'm gonna pretend that I didn't hear that…" he muttered as he turned to leave._


	16. Chapter Fifteen: Last One Standing

Chapter Fifteen

In For the Kill

_This was ridiculous. She was a grown woman, she shouldn't be worried about doing this. It should have been easy, pee on a stick and see what the result was and yet, Melanie sat on the couch looking at the pregnancy test and was unwilling to do it. _

_Sighing, she ran both hands through her hair and felt her heart beating fast as she picked up the box and Melanie slowly took the test out from the box. "Don't even know if I could pee right now," she whispered. _

_"__Well, go drink some water or something!"_

_Jumping, Melanie turned quickly and saw Lucy standing behind her and glared at her sister, "What the hell are you doing here?" she demanded._

_"__I couldn't sleep," Lucy said quickly, putting her bag down on the counter and coming over to sit on the couch with her, "I was up all night thinking about it. If it was a boy or a girl… how you were going to tell Joel. Can I be godmother?"_

_Rolling her eyes, Melanie put the test back in the box and shook her head "Jesus 'Luce, I don't even know if I'm pregnant yet," she muttered, standing up and walking towards the kitchen._

_"__Well, just take the test already then!" Lucy said exasperated, turning her body to look at her, "I don't know why you haven't done it yet!"_

_"__Because I'm not ready to find out yet!" Melanie snapped, slamming the box down on the counter and making Lucy jump, "Just mind your own business Lucy, okay?"_

_There was silence in the apartment and Lucy's eyes softened as she slowly stood up and walked over to Melanie, who was shaking slightly and pressing her lips tightly together, "Just do it when you're ready," Lucy whispered, putting one arm around her and hugging her tightly, "and we'll deal with it then. I'll be here for you 'sis. Every step of the way."_

_"__Thank you," Melanie murmured, giving her a small smile "I'm just… just…"_

_"__Hey, no need to explain," Lucy smiled, rubbing her back comfortingly "in your own time, yeah?"_

_"__Yeah…"_

_"__But it will be today, won't it?"_

As she shut the door, Melanie felt her heart thudding in her chest and forced herself to breathe – scenarios of Ellie getting caught ran through her head, each more unpleasant than the last. _"Don't doubt her," _she thought to herself _"she's a tough kid and she's been going out hunting all winter. You thought she would get hurt and she didn't."_

But no amount of positive thinking made her feel better.

Since they had come to this town, Ellie and Melanie had gotten closer, they would sit up talking through the night. Tell stories of before and confide in each other. While they had been travelling before reaching the University where everything had went to shit, Melanie couldn't help but feel like she was left out when it came to the three of them. Not that she resented the obvious bond between Joel and Ellie but now that feeling was gone.

Now, she was more protective of Ellie than she should be.

Heading back toward the room Joel was lying she paused in the doorway as she looked at him. He was still unconscious but his colouring had improved, the antibiotics must have kicked in and she wondered how Ellie had acquired the medication. Melanie herself had been in the abandoned houses looking for supplies – ammunition and medication – and had only found a little. None of the good stuff.

Walking over, she sat on the ground beside Joel and covered her face with her hands, hating her situation and wishing she had demanded Ellie stayed with her. She should have _made_ her stay. "This was meant to be a simple job," she murmured between her fingers, "take the girl to the Fireflies and then get back to the compound. Then you decide to come along and stir up old feelings, you jackass."

_"__Your wife kinda scares me… and I don't doubt that if something happened to Mel, then she would make good on her promise. I don't want her coming after me so…I'm gonna tag along with these two and make sure nothing happens."_

"It's okay for you," Melanie whispered, sitting up straight and looking at him "you just lay there and leave all the hard decisions for me. Ellie's out there right now risking her life when it should be me-"she stopped when her voice hitched in her throat and sighed shakily "she's so damn… _stubborn_ and headstrong. Takes after you far too much," she added, looking over at his still form, "not that that's a bad thing… in some areas."

Joel mumbled something intelligible and frowned a little in his sleep. Melanie couldn't help but smile as she remembered how he would talk in his sleep, tell her they were going to Bora Bora… and that he was 8 months pregnant. She would always wake him up with his laughing and he wouldn't believe her when she told him what he had been saying.

"It's supposed to be me out there," Melanie said quietly, feeling ashamed of herself that she was in here safe while a young girl was out risking her life, "if something ever happened to her… I'd never forgive myself. After Sarah…"

_Sir, there's a little girl_

Melanie bit her lip hard as she felt her eyes welling up: considering her situation, now was not the time to think about Sarah.

She wasn't going to go through that again.

"Could you please… could you please just wake up?" Melanie asked, looking over at Joel and hoping he could hear her, "This would be a lot easier with you… it was always easier with you…"

She stopped talking and looked over Joel's face… there were new scars along his cheeks, some more wrinkles in his brow with all the frowning he did… and the grey in his hair. He was a different person and yet… there still was a bit of the old Joel there. That moment in the University had showed her that… it had taken all of her willpower not to-

The sudden sound of gunshots made Melanie's heart stop and she ran over to the washing machine and quickly climbed on top of it to look out the window and heard the men shouting. "Shit!" she hissed and ran to Joel's pack and grabbed the pistol as it had the most ammo, Ellie and herself had used it sparingly incase of an emergency arising. And now was definitely an emergency. There wasn't much ammo, so she would have to make every shot count. Rolling her shoulders, Melanie was relieved when there was no pain in her arm: all those exercises had paid off.

"I'm gonna borrow this," she said quickly, pulling on the thick jacket and putting a box of ammo in the pocket, "I won't let anything happen to her. I promise."

Heading out of the door, Melanie ducked low behind a wall and while crouching, ran towards the source of the shouting. The tracks in the snow were easy enough to follow and with every gunshot, she just prayed that it had missed its target.

"SHOOT THE HORSE! BRING IT DOWN!"

Running forward and not giving a damn about her own protection, Melanie ran around the side of the house just to see a bandit raise his gun and this time, the bullet found its target. The noise that the horse made when the bullet ripped through his body made her blood freeze, Melanie watched in horror as Ellie and Callus fell off the path and disappeared from sight.

"No…no. Fuck, please _no_!" Melanie whispered, trying to get as close as she could. She was Ellie's only hope now, getting shot wouldn't help her any and she mentally shook herself for forgetting that earlier.

"She's on the move! THIS WAY!"

"I'll stay here in case she double backs!"

Waiting until there were only one bandit left, Melanie put the gun in her leg holster and brought out her knife, "That's it asshole," she said quietly, deciding the quietest way to get rid of him "one less to deal with."

Sneaking forward, she jumped up on his back and covered his mouth before he could shout out and jammed the knife into his neck, hitting the artery as blood spurted out from between her fingers and stained the snow red. Letting him fall forward, Melanie searched his pockets quickly but didn't find anything useful and pushed his body over the edge and felt her heart ache when she seen the broken body of Callus.

"I'm sorry…" Melanie whispered, feeling truly sorry for the horse that had served them so well.

Standing up straight, Melanie seen signs for a nature trail and frowned a little when she seen the large lodge they hadn't yet checked in the distance. Plenty of hiding places inside, she just hoped that Ellie would think the same and head there too.

Pressing on, Melanie was lucky not to have to use her pistol, only killing bandits that strayed too far from the others who were looking for Ellie as if their lives depended on it. She wanted to know why capturing Ellie was such an important mission. Surely they wouldn't have this much of a hatred for someone stealing a little bit of medication? But, it was a changed world now. She had witnessed brutal murders back in Boston just for looking at someone wrong.

There was more gunfire as Melanie approached the lodge and she seen two corpses with arrows sticking in their throats in the middle of the street and heard the others shouting threats as they approached the lodge. "_This is a good thing," _she thought, taking cover behind the wall and getting out the pistol, "_she's still alive._"

Before she was going to take her shot, Melanie froze when she saw a man come out of the lodge carrying an unconscious Ellie and looked towards the remaining bandits. She was horribly outnumbered.

"Back to the town," the man announced and Melanie wondered if he was the leader, "we have the girl, our business is done here."

One bandit seemed to disagree, "What about the fuckers that helped her kill our guys back at the university?" he demanded, "I want them dead!"

There were nods and shouts of agreement but the man carrying Ellie shrugged, "She needed medication desperately and was out alone," he said calmly, "I doubt they'll last long without her and die slowly and surely. But a group of you can stay behind if you like and keep an eye out for them."

Sliding down behind the wall, Melanie thought desperately about her next move. Trying to grab Ellie would be suicide… and Joel wasn't in any condition to help.

She was about to play a very dangerous game of cat and mouse with these assholes… the only thing was… she didn't know if she was the cat… or the mouse.

_Pregnant… she was pregnant._

_Melanie didn't know how long she had been pacing her flat, arms crossed with one hand covering her mouth as her eyes remained widened in surprise. She didn't know what her next move was… she had to tell Joel, she knew that. But whenever she tried to think of the words to say, her mind would go blank._

_Staring at the test, Melanie shook her head as she once again looked at the two little lines that meant she was pregnant. Or did it? Tests could be wrong sometimes… Daisy had had a meltdown when she took one and it said she was pregnant but then the doctor had told her it was a false alarm. Maybe that was what was happening to her._

_After all, they had always used protection whenever they were intimate. _

_Deciding that the doctor was her next move, Melanie grabbed her keys and headed for the door. There was no point phoning Joel or Lucy until she definitely knew if she was pregnant or not. Getting in the car, she took out her cell and made a quick call for an appointment with the doctor and was immensely relieved when she was told to come in now while the doctor was free._

_The nerves kicked in while she was driving and as she stopped at the red traffic lights, she glanced down and put a hand on her stomach unsure if she wanted there to be life within her or not… being pregnant wouldn't be the worst thing ever. And she wouldn't be alone… whatever the outcome, she would be able to handle it._

_"__Finally have an excuse for eating so much…" Melanie whispered, smiling a little, "eating for two and all that."_

_As she turned to look out the window, it was as if time had slowed down as she saw a large truck come straight towards her… the driver slumped over the wheel. There was no time to move, not even time to blink before it hit the side of her car and everything went black…_


	17. Chapter Sixteen: Reunited

_As he shut the door on his truck, Joel couldn't help but sigh and feel a little reluctant to do this job for his ex's sister but he needed the money and Tommy was already out working at someone else's house. Walking up the path, he gripped his toolbox tightly and raised his hand to knock on the door but it opened before his fist could make contact with the door and Lucy stood there with widened eyes._

_"__Oh! Joel, you're here!" _

_Joel frowned a little as he saw the way that Lucy was intensely looking at him, her eyes flickering over his face, "Yeah, you said something about a leaky sink?" _

_"__Yup! Bathroom. Upstairs," Lucy said, rolling her eyes, "Driving me crazy. How are you by the way? Any interesting news? No life changing events? Cup of coffee?"_

_Feeling a little stunned by her behaviour, Joel wondered if the stress of raising twin boys had hit Lucy and she had started drinking during the day. "No thanks, I'm good on the coffee front and I'm the same as always," he said slowly, wondering what was wrong with her, "nothing exciting happening."_

_"__Nothing excit-" Lucy stopped and narrowed her eyes at him, "Have you spoken to Melanie lately?"_

_Joel withheld a sigh and started to walk upstairs, "So is it just the sink leaking or is it the tap too?" he asked, hearing Lucy run up behind him on the stairs, "I have a couple more jobs to do so I don't have all day."_

_"__Joel, you didn't answer-"_

_"__Look Lucy, I don't wanna talk about this with you okay?" Joel snapped, turning to look at the woman "I'm here to fix the damn sink and that's it."_

_"__So she hasn't told you…" Lucy said slowly and rubbed her face, "she probably hasn't done it yet."_

_Rolling his eyes and thinking that she was talking about the holiday, Joel shook his head, "Melanie told me all about it, okay… and I think it's great."_

_"__You… you do?" Lucy's eyes widened and she looked concerned "Are you gonna be with her then? Help her through this?"_

_"__Why would she need me?" He asked exasperatedly, "It's hardly life-changing stuff, lots of people do it."_

_Lucy suddenly looked angry, "Hey! It's partly because of you this is happening!" she snapped, "Least you could do is support her!"_

_"__What you want me to hold her hand through this?" Joel frowned "Pretend to be interested? I'm sorry it isn't happening."_

_He didn't know why Lucy was looking at him as if he had sprouted two heads suddenly, "Wow… how the hell did my sister ever fall for such a fucking, heartless son of a bitch."_

_"__Where the hell did that come from?-"_

_"__After everything she's been through she's gotta go through this alone!"_

_"__-it's a fuckin' holiday, Lucy! She doesn't need me to-"_

_"__-and to think she might be carrying your child. I feel so sorry for it if she is pregnant."_

_As she said that last word, Joel felt as if all the air had been sucked out of the room and his eyes widened as he looked at her, "Pregnant?" he repeated and dropped his toolbox on the floor, "Melanie's pregnant?"_

_"__That… that wasn't what you were talking about…?" Lucy said uneasily, suddenly looking guilty, "Please tell me that was what you were talking about!"_

_He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair, not knowing what to say… "She told me about her holiday… she-she didn't mention __**anything **__about this." _

_"__Oh fuck… fuck, fuck, fuck, __**fuck**_,"_ Lucy cursed loudly, covering her face "Melanie is gonna kill me. She is actually going to kill me."_

_Walking forward, Joel pulled her hands away from her face and looked at her seriously "Is she?" his heart was thudding in his chest as he waited for her answer, "I need to know Lucy, is Melanie pregnant with my child?"_

_"__I went around there last night and she was going to take a test," Lucy said shakily, "I haven't heard anything since."_

_Joel dropped Lucy's hands and stared into space "I need to talk to her," he said suddenly "I have to know."_

_"__Joel, wait!" Lucy made an annoyed noise as the house phone rang and she ran downstairs to answer it, "Just wait on me okay? I'll come with you. She'll be nervous as hell if it's just the two of you- Hello?"_

_Not bothering about his toolbox, Joel went downstairs and was about to leave when-_

_"__Yes, Melanie Colt is my sister…"_

_He stopped and turned to look at Lucy who had become very pale and looked incredibly worried, "A car accident… and she's-she's stable, right? She's going to be okay? I'll come now!" _

_"__What the hell's happened?" Joel asked, hoping that this was a mistake but one look at Lucy and he knew it wasn't._

_"__It's Melanie… she's been in a car accident."_

His eyelids were so heavy that it took a while before his eyes opened fully. Joel looked around confused as he seen that was in a run-down basement but what worried him more was that he was alone.

No Melanie and no Ellie.

Trying to remember what the hell had happened, he got quick glimpses of being at the college and the last thing he remembered was falling down the stairs before everything had went black.

He needed to find them… he needed to know what had happened.

Throwing the blanket off of himself, Joel went to sit up and hissed in pain when his side flared up. Looking down at it, he seen that it had been stitched up neatly and the bruises were beginning to fade. Obviously Melanie's work, Ellie's stitching was a lot messier.

"Ellie!" He called out, slowly getting to his feet and swaying a little, "Melanie?"

As he went to walk towards the stairs, Joel's leg gave out and he fell to the ground, his knees hitting the stone flooring hard and he cursed loudly in pain. Breathing through his nose, he ignored the pain and once again got to his feet, "MELANIE!" he shouted a little louder, waiting several moments for a reply, "ELLIE!"

Hearing nothing but his own laboured breathing, Joel spotted his backpack and noticed that the contents had been spilled out and that his pistol was missing. Something must be wrong… He picked up most of the ammo and the other guns he had collected on his travels and put the backpack on, although it felt as if he was carrying a heavy rock instead.

The stairs were a challenge and he felt quite out of breath when he finally reached the top and stepped into the kitchen and seen that it had been ransacked. There wouldn't be any supplies here. Melanie would have searched this place from top to bottom for anything useful as well as Ellie…

"Where the hell are you two?" he whispered, looking out onto the snow covered town, hoping that his girls weren't too far away. Heading for the door, he stepped outside and pulled his collar up over his neck and shivered. It was so fucking cold. "ELLIE! MELANIE!" he called out again, looking around for any trace of them, "WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?"

As he walked down the road, he heard the noise of a bullet passing him and then the clink as it hit the wreck of a car in front of him. "SHIT!" he cursed and took cover behind it, bringing out his gun quickly.

"IT'S THAT FUCKER FROM THE UNIVERSITY! KILL HIM!"

Joel gritted his teeth and was relieved to see that his gun was fully loaded, "WHERE ARE THEY?" he shouted back, looking over the top of the car as he fired his gun quickly before ducking down again as the two bandits fell dead in the snow.

"Move it! Don't let him get ya!"

Figuring out it must have been the same guys from the University, Joel got to his feet and saw that they were quickly retreating. Probably to get more men. Not caring about the pain in his side, he quickly gave chase, firing his gun when he had a clear shot.

He lost track of one in a house and ran through to get him but felt an arm go around his neck as he went out the other door, "Gotcha asshole!" the man sneered, increasing his hold on Joel. Out of the corner of his eye, he seen another one approach with a knife in his hand and tried with all his might to get himself free, "Finish him off!" the one holding Joel demanded.

"Hold him still!"

As he got closer, Joel knew he had to act fast or die when suddenly someone ran into the knife-wielding bandit and pushed him off his feet before slamming a brick into the side of his head. Not letting this distraction go to waste, Joel threw his head back and felt it hit the other bandits head and managed to twist out of his grip. Grabbing the bandit, he slammed him face-first into the side of the house and watched as he crumpled to the floor, turning to see who his saviour was, he felt the breath escape him as he seen Melanie standing shakily before him.

"Joel?"

Joel looked over her and seen that her front had blood on it and there was a cut on her cheek, "Melanie…" he whispered and walked forward to engulf her in a hug. Relief running through him.

She gripped him hard and he felt her tremble as he held her, "I heard them shouting and didn't know if it was you," Melanie murmured against his neck, "I didn't think you were ever going to wake up…"

"It's all right… it's gonna be alright," Joel said reassuringly, as he leant back, he seen her face crumple and he frowned a little, "'Mel, what's wrong?" he asked quietly, "Where's Ellie?"

Melanie averted her eyes as she stepped backwards out of his arms, "They took her… there was so many of them that-that I couldn't do anything…" she stopped and looked at him pleadingly, "I'm so sorry Joel, it's all my fault… I lost her…"

"Hey, hey, it's not your fault okay," Joel said slowly, hearing the bandit groan behind him, "it's these _fuckers_ fault," he walked over and punched the one who was starting to come too hard in the face, "you're coming with me."

Melanie frowned as he started to drag one of them towards a house, "Wait, what? Joel, what are you gonna do?" she asked worriedly as she seen the look on his face.

"I'm gonna find out where they've taken my girl," Joel said in a dangerously serious voice, "and then I'm gonna get her back."

As he dragged the bandit away, Melanie heard him groan loudly, "Let me go! I'll fuck you… up."

"Come on."

Melanie had hated this side of Joel back in Boston… back when they had started to fight almost every night and it was because of his actions that she had left. But Melanie hadn't realized that if Joel hadn't done those things, then she would have died. Because of him, they survived. This was the way of the world now… and she wasn't the same Melanie as back then.

She had changed too.

Hearing the other one come too, Melanie walked over and pistol whipped him in the back of the head and he groaned in pain as he landed on his back in the snow. Standing back from him, she pointed the gun at his head "Get up dickhead," she said firmly, "do anything stupid and I blow your brains out, got it?"

_Joel hated hospitals._

_He remembered being in here almost every week when Sarah was first born, worrying himself half to death everytime she got a little cold or breathed funny. The nurses had come to know him and always reassured him that his baby was fine and this was normal behaviour for every parent._

_Glancing over at Lucy, he seen that she was gripping her bag so tight that her knuckles had turned white. She had barely spoken on the ride to the hospital and instead stared into space with wide eyes, looking on the verge of tears._

_"__Hey, 'Luce…" Joel said gently, putting his hand over hers, "She's gonna be okay… try to relax."_

_"__She was in a fucking car accident Joel…" Lucy whispered, her voice breaking at her own words "they can be bad. Not everyone comes out alive."_

_Joel sighed, "Thinking like that isn't helping any," he told her quietly, "do you want me to phone Garrett or-"_

_"__He's at work…" Lucy's face crumpled and she covered her face with her hand, "I can't lose her… she's all I have left."_

_When she began to cry, Joel reached over and put his arm around her shoulder, trying to keep strong for the both of them. Scenario's ran through his head – ones of Melanie coming through the doors and smiling at them, telling them they were such worriers and she was fine and other more sinister ones of a doctor coming out and telling them she didn't make it._

_He closed his eyes and felt genuine fear that he was never going to see her again. _

_If he hadn't been such a fucking idiot and let her walk away, she wouldn't have been in this mess. She would have been with him, safe and sound. _

_"__Are you Melanie Colt's sister?"_

_Looking up, Joel seen a nurse giving them a sad look as Lucy nodded quickly, "Yes, yes I'm her sister," she wiped her eyes "How is she? Can I see her?"_

_"__Your sister is stable for now, the truck driver suffered a heart attack and hit her side on. She has severe bruising and a few broken ribs," the nurse looked at them both sadly "but I'm afraid there was some internal trauma and she suffered a miscarriage. She lost the baby."_

_Joel froze on the spot and looked down at the ground as the nurse began to talk more to Lucy who had begun crying again. Melanie __**had**__ been pregnant with his baby but now… he forced himself to breathe through his nose and felt an overwhelming urge to see her. _

_"__-she's resting just now, but if you are quiet, you can sit in the room with her," the nurse's voice brought Joel out of his thoughts, "the doctor will be in shortly to speak to you. You are both family yes?"_

_Lucy nodded again, "This is her fiancé," she lied quickly "they've been together for ages."_

_"__That's fine, if you would follow me."_

_Joel felt numb as he followed Lucy and the nurse down the corridor and into the lift, all he could think about was Melanie… had she known she was pregnant? Should they even tell her? He didn't want to inflict more pain on her. Never. _

_Lucy was the first to go into the room and let out a small sob of pain as she looked at her sister, Joel felt his heart aching when he seen her sleeping on the hospital bed. Cuts and bruises on her face with a drip in her arm. She looked so fragile lying there._

_"__I can't believe she lost the baby…" Lucy whispered, then glanced at Joel, "I'm so sorry Joel."_

_He shook his head and stood over Melanie, cupping her cheek tenderly, "So am I," he said quietly, "so am I…"_


	18. Chapter Seventeen: Old Habits Die Hard

_Melanie stared at the ceiling with a blank expression and let out a shaky breath. Since she had woke up, she had asked the nurse to not allow any visitors, not even her sister, as she wanted some time alone. To come to terms with what had happened and the nurse had agreed. _

_Her side was still giving her hell, three broken ribs and a fuck load of bruises but she was alive. __**She**__ was alive._

_Not the two-month old life that had been inside of her. _

_Closing her eyes, Melanie lifted her hands off of her stomach and laid them by her sides, feeling her throat closing up at the thought of what could have been. She would have been a great mother, not like her own at all, Melanie wouldn't up and leave because life wasn't 'exciting' enough._

_Family was important. Family was everything to her._

_Sighing, Melanie looked around the small hospital room she was in and was relieved that she hadn't booked a holiday with the money that Lucy had given her. She would have a hospital bill to pay and she would also need money for rent as she wouldn't be at work for a while. _

_After that, life would be the same but at the same time different._

_"__Stop being depressed," Melanie whispered, rubbing her temple as she talked aloud to herself, "you could have died… focus on living. Not the bad stuff."_

_Sitting up in bed, she winced a little at the pain in her chest and smiled as she saw the flowers on the windowsill. Lucy must have brought those in yesterday during visiting hours, when she was asleep. Melanie wondered if Joel had been with her… she also wondered if he knew about her situation and hoped that he didn't. _

_It was one conversation she wouldn't have enjoyed having. _

_"__Miss Colt?" a nurse stood at the door, "There's someone who wants to see you, would you like a visitor today?" _

_Melanie guessed it would be her sister and gave a small nod, "Sure, I'm feeling social at the moment."_

_The nurse smiled in response and leaned back into the corridor, "You can come in now."_

_But it wasn't Lucy that came in and Melanie's eyes widened a little as Joel stood awkwardly in the doorway with his hands in his pockets, he looked over her and sighed "I think we need to talk," Joel said quietly._

_With one look, Melanie could tell that he knew she had been pregnant and she nervously cleared her throat, "Yeah, I think so too," she replied._

Melanie leaned against the wall as she stared out the window, trying to ignore the sounds of pain the man was making as Joel beat him severely. Closing her eyes, she forced herself to think of Ellie out there, depending on them and didn't comment on Joel's actions. This was what had to be done and she wasn't going to stand in the way.

Anything to get Ellie back.

His friend was tied to the chair and his eyes were wide with fear as he heard what was happening behind him, "Please, you gotta talk some sense into him," he whispered desperately, "he's a fuckin' lunatic!"

"You're outta luck, buddy," Melanie said slowly, turning her head to look at him, "I'm on his side."

Her eyes flickered past him to Joel, who was now standing up and holding his side a little as he had exerted himself. "You wait here," he said to the barely conscious bandit on the floor and grabbed Melanie's knife from the table and made his way to the other one, not looking at Melanie at all.

Joel dragged the chair over also and sat right in front of the terrified looking bandit, "Now," he said in a deadly serious tone, "the girl…is she alive?"

"What girl? I don't know no girl."

Melanie felt her heartbeat increase slightly at the look on Joel's face, he wasn't happy with what he had just heard and without blinking, stuck the knife deep into the bandits knee. He yelled out in pain and shook in the chair as Joel still held the knife tightly in his hands. "FUCK!" the bandit shouted out, biting his lip hard.

"Focus right here," Joel said firmly, slapping his chin and making the other man look at him, "right here," he pressed down onto the blade making the bandit inhale quickly through his teeth, "or I'll pop your goddamn knee off. The girl."

It was so cold in the room that Melanie could see every breath that she took, hugging herself tightly, she didn't interfere with Joel's interrogation and waited in anticipation for his answer. The sooner they found Ellie… the better.

Nodding frantically, the bandit managed to speak a few words, "She's alive. She's-she's David's newest pet."

"Pet?" Melanie repeated out loud and looked at Joel worriedly: he seemed to be barely controlling his anger as his eyes fell on the man tied to a chair in front of him.

"Where?"

He didn't answer fast enough and Joel twisted the knife further into his kneecap "In the town! In the town!" he cried out.

Taking the knife out, Joel then proceeded to push it into the man's mouth and held up a map in front of him, "Now, you're gonna mark it on the map," he said slowly, "and it better be the same exact spot your buddy points too," he added threateningly "mark it."

Quickly, the bandit poked the blade through the map and Melanie pushed off of the wall and hurriedly looked at the map. The town wasn't too far away and if they hurried, they'd be there soon. "It's right there!" the bandit spat out the knife and looked at them pleadingly, his jeans stained dark red with his blood, "You can verify it. Go ask him. Go on! He'll tell ya."

"We should get going," Melanie said quickly, holding onto the map as Joel slowly walked to the back of the chair, "before it gets too dark."

"I'm just gonna let his friend verify this," Joel said in a dead pan voice.

The bandit tied to the chair let out a frustrated noise and looked to Melanie, "I ain't lyin'. I **ain't** lyin'!"

Melanie jumped back and covered her mouth as Joel suddenly got him into a headlock and began choking him with one arm, the other man's eyes widened at her before there was a sickening crack and his body went slack. The chair fell backwards once Joel relinquished his hold and the other bandit seemed just as horrified by Joel's actions.

"Fuck you man!" the other one shouted, watching in fear as Joel picked up a metal pipe from the floor "He told you what you wanted! I ain't telling you shit!"

Joel shrugged and stepped slowly towards him, "That's alright…" he said slowly and raised the bar above his head, "I believe him."

"NO! WAIT!"

The pipe smashed off of his head and his body jerked before falling still, Melanie felt the bile rise in her throat as she seen the blood begin to ooze from his head, as well as the sight of it splattered on the wall and on the pipe that Joel had now dropped onto the floor.

"I've seen that look before…" Joel said quietly, glancing at Melanie over his shoulder, "you don't approve?"

Lowering her hand from her mouth, Melanie looked at the two corpses and then down at the map. If they had asked them nicely, they wouldn't have known where to look for Ellie. This wasn't a fight about who won the ration card fair and square or who got the last piece of food, this was a fight of survival and she was slowly starting to accept that all these years later. The thought of Ellie back with them and safe. That was what she had to focus on, "We know where she is, thanks to you," Melanie said shakily, "let's just hurry up and get her back."

"You're right… let's go."

Grabbing her knife from the floor, Melanie wiped it clean on the bandits leg and stood up watching as Joel put on his backpack, "We're probably gonna have to kill this son of a bitch who took her," she said slowly, following him out of the room and towards the stairs "something tells me that he isn't going to give up Ellie without a fight."

"You okay with that?"

Melanie stopped and put a hand on Joel's arm making him stop, "I'm gonna do whatever it takes to get her back," she said seriously, noticing how Joel looked surprised at her words, "and I just want you to know, that I think you should too."

"Goes without saying," Joel replied softly and put his hand over hers, "we're gonna get her back… and after we do, I don't want you blaming yourself for this happening, okay?"

Looking down at their hands, Melanie squeezed his slowly before lowering her own. "You're the boss," she said with a small half-smile and he returned it with a lopsided one of his own.

"Come on, we're burnin' daylight."

_Melanie watched as Joel came into the room and slowly sat on the seat next to her bed, he kept clenching and unclenching his fists before he finally spoke. "I __**know**__ that you were… that…. You were pregnant," Joel said slowly, looking up at her with an expressionless face "before the accident…"_

_"__Let me guess," Melanie sighed, rolling her eyes "Lucy told you."_

_"__It was a misunderstanding," Joel told her sadly, "she didn't meant to tell me… but I'm glad she did. Something tells me that you wouldn't have told me otherwise that you…." He didn't say the word but Melanie knew what he meant._

_Pressing her lips together, Melanie nodded "Isn't exactly the easiest thing to tell your ex," she said slowly "especially when wanting a child was the reason that you split up."_

_"__I would have stood by you, Melanie," Joel's voice had grown tender as had his eyes as he looked at her, "I wouldn't have hated you for it. Did you really think that?"_

_Running a hand through her lank hair, Melanie shrugged "I didn't know what to think. My head was all over the place," she admitted but shook her head "but no… I didn't think that you would abandon me, I know you're better than that."_

_"__Were you… were you on your way to tell me when… when the crash happened?" His eyes seemed desperate for her answer and as Melanie looked at him, she realized that he was blaming himself for her accident._

_Straightening up, Melanie fixed him with a stern look "Don't go blaming yourself for this, okay?" she said firmly "I wasn't on my way to see you… I was on my way to the doctor so it isn't your fault. It's…it's just the way things turned out," she added lamely turning her head to look out the window "and I just have to deal with it."_

_"__But you don't have to deal with it alone…"_

_Melanie frowned as she looked at Joel again, "What do you mean?" she asked, her eyes flickering over his serious face._

_"__When I found out you were in here…. When I was driving to the hospital with Lucy," Joel stopped and seemed to compose himself, "all I could think was how empty and-and shit my life would be without you in it. And then it hit me. My life was already shit because I had pushed you away and I didn't want that anymore," he said slowly, "just the thought of you dying and not… not having that chance to tell you how I really felt, scared me. So I made a deal with the big guy in the sky, when you pulled through this… I would tell you how I feel…tell you that I made a huge mistake and I wanna fix it."_

_Feeling her throat close up, Melanie felt confused "They have me on really, really strong painkillers," she whispered, wondering if he meant what she thought he did, "so you're gonna have to spell it out for me."_

_"__I love you…. Melanie Colt," Joel said solemnly "I was too caught up in my past… to think about my future. My future with you. Now, I want to start doing that."_

_Blinking fast to stop the tears, Melanie hoped that this wasn't a dream, "You better be serious," she said softly, "or I'm gonna have to kill you for playing with my heart."_

_Standing up, Joel cupped her cheek tenderly, being careful of her bruising "After what's happened… I've been reminded that life is too short," he said quietly "I wanna spend every last minute of my life with you 'Mel, starting with a wedding and a dozen kids and ending with us old and grey with grandchildren."_

_"__A dozen?" Melanie repeated with a watery smile "I was thinking one or two at the most."_

_"__We can decide on that later," Joel chuckled and wiped a tear on her cheek away with his thumb, "I was an idiot to let you go… I love you."_

_Melanie let out a shaky breath as she looked up at him, "I love you too," she whispered "but are you sure this is what you want?"_

_"__Am I sure I want to be happy with the woman I love and make new memories with her?" Joel asked "You bet your ass I am."_

_Happiness flooded through Melanie as she grabbed his shirt and pulled him down to her level, her lips against his in a passionate kiss. She knew there were tears in her eyes as he slipped a hand to the back of her neck and deepened the kiss but they were the good kind._

_"__I'm gonna be so pissed off if this turns out to be a dream," she said smiling a little against his lips as he pressed his forehead against hers._

_Joel grinned and kissed her lips again, "Don't worry about it, I've finally woke up, just took me a while. Everything's gonna be okay now, you'll see."_

A/N I know this is quite a short chapter but it's mostly a filler for the next one, which shall be longer and more angst. Hope you all enjoy new chapters! And thank you for all the reviews. They make my day. ~ BSI


	19. Chapter Eighteen: Playing with Fire

_Moving slightly in her bed, Melanie winced a little at the pain in her side and opened her eyes slowly, smiling at the sight that greeted her. Joel was sitting up in her bed, watching T.V and his arm loosely around her shoulders. Feeling her move, he glanced down and smiled at her, "Hey, look who's finally up," Joel murmured, kissing the top of her head, "after all the packing is done."_

_"__May I remind you I was recently in a car accident?" Melanie said, shuffling closer to him so she could rest her head on his chest, "I'm to get plenty of rest."_

_Joel let his hand trail down her back, before coming to rest on her hip, "You know I don't mind," he said softly, "just wish there was a way for you to keep your flat."_

_Looking around the flat she had lived in for six years now, Melanie sighed and shrugged, "I'm not gonna have any income for a while," she said sadly "no point trying to hold onto this place. Lucy's place won't be so bad. Just need to get used to the noise."_

_Sweet as it was that her sister had offered her to live with them until she was better, Melanie was dreading the noise of a house with young twins and also of Lucy's overprotectiveness. Since the accident, she had been treated as if she were a piece of glass, everyone was scared of her breaking and it was starting to bug her. Even Charlene and Daisy had been treating her like that – something she would never had expected._

_"__Well… you could always stay with me," Joel offered sincerely, Melanie looked up in surprise but didn't get anything from his facial expressions as he was busy watching TV, "Sarah wouldn't mind at all and neither would I."_

_"__Are you being serious?"_

_Raising an eyebrow, Joel met her eyes and smiled "Wouldn't offer if I wasn't."_

_"__You want me to move in with you?" Melanie repeated, widening her eyes a little "As in live with you?"_

_Joel's eyes softened "Yeah, I want that. Question is… do you?"_

_Melanie rolled her eyes, "Of course I want that…" she said sitting up a little more and looking at him seriously, "but… I won't be able to help pay bills or the mortgage and I'm not sure if I'm comfortable with that. I don't want to make your situation harder."_

_"__The only way you're gonna make my situation harder is by saying no," Joel replied chuckling a little, "and as far as paying your way… you don't need to give me money," he said his voice going a little deeper as he leaned forward slightly, "there's… __**other**__ ways for you to pay your way."_

_Giggling, Melanie gave his lips a quick kiss and shook her head "You sound like a seedy landlord from a porno," she said sarcastically as Joel laughed at her comment, "I can hear the bad jazz music now."_

_"__I'm being serious though," Joel said softly, his other hand came up to trace her lips "I would be more than happy for you to move in with me, till you're doing better or… for good."_

_Melanie let her eyes flicker over his face and smiled tenderly at him "I think God was smiling down on me when he broke that tap," she said quietly "my life wouldn't be as good without you and Sarah in it."_

_"__Or I just got lucky that the hot waitress said yes," Joel whispered and kissed her softly, holding her gently in his arms as they enjoyed their moment alone._

_Smiling against his lips, Melanie met his eyes and nodded slowly, "If you'll have me… I'd love to move in," she said happily._

_"__You know I will," Joel said, his eyes crinkling with happiness as he grinned at her, "I'd love nothing more…"_

At first, Melanie had thought they wouldn't find this damn town in all this snow and blizzard but in the distance, she could hear church bells ringing and frowned in confusement: what the hell was happening there?

Joel's grip on his handgun tightened as they approached the town, "Stay low…" he whispered, crouching down behind a wall as they heard the muffled sounds of people around them, "we find Ellie and get her outta here. Anyone tries to stop us…"

"Kill them…" Melanie finished his sentence hesitantly and gave herself a shake "anything to get her back. I know that."

His eyes softened slightly at her but then grew serious as he looked over the wall, "Come on… we're wasting time."

Following him throughout the town, Melanie kept one hand out to shield her eyes from the snow and the wind. It was picking up now and making it damn near impossible to see where she was going. Joel walked along a pavement, using the building as a guide and he cursed quietly to himself, "Can't see a fucking thing."

"Joel!"

Melanie froze as she pointed out a dark silhouette of a person just five yards from them, it was hard to see which way he was facing but Joel kept his eyes on him. She jumped slightly when Joel took her hand and pulled her forward, one finger on his lips to signal her to be quiet as he reached behind him and took out his bow and arrow.

Unable to believe he could see his target never mind hit it, Melanie felt impressed when the guard fell face first (she thought) into the snow and never got back up. "Nice work, Robin Hood," she whispered as they headed forward again, "you're deadly with that thing."

"Just point anymore out," Joel chuckled quietly, "make yourself useful."

After getting rid of a few more guards, Melanie kept an eye out for any sign of Ellie. She had no idea how big the town was and she could be anywhere…

Cutting down a small alley, they passed a burning barrel and she felt quite reluctant to leave it's warmth but pushed on, hugging herself tightly in a desperate attempt to keep the cold out. "Hey, there's a door up there," Joel pointed out, "we can get some cover and see what's going on."

"Anything to get outta this fuckin' blizzard."

Inside, Melanie stepped in and shook off the snowflakes from her jacket as Joel shut the door tight behind him. Allowing herself a minute to get her bearings, Melanie switched on her flashlight and looked around. Frowning, she seen shelves and shelves of shoes, clothes and backpacks.

"What the hell?" Joel muttered, narrowing his eyes at the scene in front of him, "Why do they have so many shoes and shit in here?"

Melanie felt an eerie chill as they stood looking around the room: something didn't feel right about this place. "I wonder what happened to the owners of those shoes."

"Or the bags," Joel's tone was deadly serious as he stepped forward and picked up a backpack from the lower shelves, Melanie was about to ask him what was wrong but her throat closed up as she got a closer look at the bag.

It was Ellie's.

"What is this?" Joel muttered, although Melanie could hear the worried undertone in his words "Why-why is Ellie's stuff in here?"

"I have no idea…" Melanie said slowly, glancing around, she caught sight of another doorway and pointed it out to Joel, "Let's keep going, we need to find her."

Pushing aside the strips of plastic over the doorway, Melanie gasped out loud and averted her eyes as a naked corpse swung in front of her. Feeling sickened, she took several deep breaths before looking up again. So that's what had happened to the owners of those shoes.

"Oh Christ…" Joel sounded weak as he stepped into the room too, "we gotta find her. We gotta find her and get her away from this fuckin' place."

Melanie nodded and tried not to look at the dead people, hung up like pieces of meat in a butchers "I think we all need to get away from this place," she whispered, following Joel out of the room.

Luckily, there were no more sinister surprises awaiting them in the front of the shop and the blizzard seemed to have calmed down a little enabling them to see the layout of the town through the window. Joel went out first and as Melanie looked around to make sure there were no more guards, she felt him grip her arm tightly.

"Joel… what…" her voice died away when she seen what he had.

A building at the end of the street was engulfed in flames and she felt worry run through her body and fear strike at her heart.

"Holy shit… Ellie…" Joel muttered before running towards the building, not caring if there was anyone around.

"HEY! IT'S HIM! RUNNING UP-" the guard fell down dead, a bullet hole in his forehead as Melanie fired her gun and Joel stopped in the street to look at her, his eyes wide.

Melanie could hear the sounds of more guards coming and she looked over her shoulder to see two more approaching, "You go get Ellie," she said to Joel, quickly checking how much ammo she had, "I'll cover you!"

"No, we go together-"

"She needs you!" Melanie interrupted him with a glare but her eyes softened when she seen the conflict in his eyes, "I'll be okay… I promise, just go find our girl."

Joel looked towards the building one more time before he nodded at her, "Keep safe. Don't go playing the hero."

"Isn't that my line for you?" Melanie smiled weakly, then she grew serious again, "Go on! I'll make sure they don't get any closer."

Turning away from him, Melanie stood tall and took aim carefully at one guard and fired again. He fell to the ground but the other one heard the shot and began firing blindly in her direction. Taking cover behind a wreck of a car, she seen Joel looking frantically for a way in and prayed he would get in before the building collapsed on itself. Hearing no more bullets coming her way, Melanie crawled to the other side of the car and seen that the guard had gotten much closer and was quickly reloading, his eyes on Joel as he did so.

"Surprise asshole!"

He looked up quickly but too late to dodge the bullet heading his way and couldn't have stopped it hitting his neck if he tried. Eyes bulging, he fell backwards with his hands around his neck in a desperate attempt to stop the blood. Melanie felt only a slight revulsion in her actions and scanned the area carefully to see if anymore would come out of the woodwork. Hearing no more shouting, she just hoped that the town was empty and there would be no more trouble.

Reloading her gun, she ran up to the building and wondered where Joel had gone and hoped he had found a way in. "Ellie, please don't be in there," Melanie whispered, walking quickly around towards one of the broken windows, "just do me this favour once, and be safe elsewhere?"

Her blood froze when she seen a man on top of Ellie and his hands around her neck with a manic look in his eyes but before she could do anything, Ellie suddenly had a knife in her hands and hacked at his arm making him loosen his grip.

Melanie felt as if time stood still as Ellie didn't stop stabbing him, the sounds of the knife hitting bone echoing throughout the building. She knew Ellie had killed men before as well as infected but to see her killing someone so brutally, chilled Melanie to the bone. Obviously this man had done something to Ellie… and she didn't know if she wanted to find out or not.

"ELLIE!"

Joel came out of nowhere and grabbed Ellie around the middle, pulling her off of the man. At the sound of his voice, Melanie snapped out of it and swallowed the lump in her throat as she climbed in through the window and walked across the bench to jump onto the floor.

"STOP! Stop!" Joel shouted, trying to get her to calm down but the young girl writhed in his arms and fought back, her eyes closed tight.

"NO! DON'T FUCKING TOUCH ME!"

The look on Joel's face was heart-breaking as he pulled Ellie close, "Shh, Shh. It's me, Ellie! It's Joel!" he took her face in his hands tenderly to force her to look at him "Look, look. It's me."

Melanie watched sadly as Ellie looked at Joel with tears on her eyes and blood on her face, "He tried to-" her voice broke as she shook her head, "he tried… to- to…"

"Oh… baby girl," Joel whispered and he slowly pressed her head against his shoulder as she sobbed her heart out, "its okay… it's okay."

"_Joel_."

Feeling her heart break at how scared Ellie sounded, Melanie felt the tears in her eyes as she looked at the sight in front of her and felt the guilt and shame creep up on her.

_'__It's your fault this happened_' the voice in her head whispered _'it's because of you she's like this'_

Hugging herself tightly, she stayed where she was as Joel tightened his hold on Ellie as if he was scared someone would try to take her away. "It's okay now," he whispered, leaning back to push the hair away from her face, "you're safe with us. I promise."

"We should get going," Melanie's voice cracked a little and she wiped her eyes quickly and hoped that Joel hadn't seen but one look at his concerned expression and she knew that he had, "it isn't safe here."

Joel stood up slowly and nodded "Come on Ellie, we're gonna get you away from this place," he said softly and Ellie just nodded numbly, as if she couldn't hear him properly, "you take Ellie," Joel added, looking at Melanie "and I'll keep watch."

"No… she needs you," Melanie said quickly, taking out her gun, "I'll lead the way and you take her."

She couldn't bring herself to look at Ellie as they headed towards the door, fearing that she might see the intense hate that she felt inside on the young girls face. The thought of Ellie hating her was like a knife to the back and right now she couldn't take it.

Leading them out of the town, Melanie stopped to let them go ahead as she looked back at the town over her shoulder and saw the smoke rising from the building. No doubt there would be people looking for them but right now she couldn't think about that.

They had Ellie back, broken, but still alive.

* * *

Melanie stared out of the window and took in the snowy scene in front of her and let out a shaky sigh. Once upon a time, the snow around her and a roaring fire would have been a delight to see but now it just made her feel shame. It had been dark when they returned to the little village where they had first made camp when leaving the University. Obviously choosing a different house to take shelter in, one a little further from the rest and she made sure that nobody would have been able to track them to it. They needed rest tonight. Especially Ellie.

Hearing footsteps, she turned slightly to see Joel enter the room and seen the tired look on his face "How is she?" she asked softly.

"Finally sleeping," he replied, putting his gun down on the table stretching slightly "I think we should stay here for the winter. No point heading out and getting lost in a blizzard. Plus, she needs time after what happened."

Closing her eyes, Melanie tried to stop the tears from coming and turned away from Joel "I think you're right," she said, hoping her voice didn't give her away, "least we'll be warm here."

"Melanie…"

Pressing her lips together, Melanie shook slightly as the tears fell down her cheeks and shook her head. "Don't. Just don't Joel," she managed to say, her voice breaking "this is all my fault, she wouldn't have been in that situation if it wasn't for me."

There was silence and Melanie couldn't bring herself to look at Joel: he probably hated her as well for putting Ellie in danger while she had stayed safe in the house. But she was surprised when she heard him approach her slowly and put his arms around her, his chin resting on her shoulder.

"This isn't your fault…" Joel whispered softly, turning his head slightly so he was next to her ear, "and I don't ever want to hear you saying that again."

Melanie felt herself relax against him as he held her close, it had been so long since she had been comforted like this and she let out a sigh, "If only you were right" she said quietly.

"Hey, listen to me," Joel said slowly and leaned back while turning her around to face him, "if it was your fault… we'd be having a shouting match right now and I'd be telling it to you straight but it isn't. You and Ellie were trying to survive against all the odds. If you'd been able to, it would have been you those sons of bitches found… and… and things might have turned out different. I might've not seen you again."

Melanie stayed silent as he spoke and looked down at the ground as another tear fell, "I don't think I could take it if… if she _hated_ me-"

"She does **not** hate you," Joel interrupted her firmly and cupped her chin gently as he raised it so they were looking at each other "and neither do I. So stop beating yourself up about this, okay?" he let her chin go and wiped away her tears.

Nodding shakingly, Melanie swallowed hard and smiled weakly at him "I'll try," she whispered.

"Good…" Joel let his fingers linger against her cheek and slowly cupped it, "I don't think I could ever hate you…" he added quietly.

Leaning into his touch, Melanie closed her eyes and allowed herself this one moment "I hope that's true," she said slowly, opening her eyes and looking at him "I don't think I could go another twenty years without you…"

"Neither could I."

They stood looking at each other but Melanie stepped back and turned away when Ellie cried out for Joel in the room above them, "You should stay with her tonight," she said crossing her arms, "make her feel safe."

"Why don't you come up too?"

Melanie looked nervously at the stairs and then nodded "We'll both go," she said "she'd… she'd like that."

With every step, Melanie felt her worry grow and she almost stopped walking if it wasn't for Joel taking her hand in his and leading her up the stair. As she entered the room, she felt her face almost crumple at the sight of Ellie terrified and shaking in the bed as she and Joel stepped closer to the bed.

"I thought… I thought I was back there and-and…" Ellie stopped talking and looked guiltily up at Melanie, "I'm sorry."

Hearing those words, Melanie shook her head and walked over to sit next to her on the bed. "You have **nothing** to be sorry about, honey," she whispered and hugged her close, feeling relieved when Ellie hugged into her tightly, "don't you feel sorry at all."

"I'm so glad you two found me," Ellie murmured sleepily, "I knew you would."

Melanie leaned back and gently stroked her hair, "What would we do without you?" she smiled and then kissed her forehead tenderly, "Try and get some sleep… we'll both be right here."

"You promise?" Ellie asked fearfully, her wide eyes turning to Joel.

He walked to the other side of the bed and sat down, "As long as you need us, we'll be here baby girl," he said softly.

Looking relieved at his answer, Ellie laid down once more and Melanie sat up beside her, smiling weakly when Ellie cuddled into her side and closed her eyes. Running her hands through her hair, Melanie watched as she slowly fell asleep and glanced up at Joel.

"We'll be okay… right?" Melanie asked him, her voice barely a whisper.

Joel's eyes flickered over her face and he nodded "I know we will," he replied "I just know it."

_Melanie stood at the door of her now empty flat, it had taken a few days to organize the move but thanks to Joel, Tommy, Garrett and Chuck, it had been a success. Everything had been packed up and moved out to Joel's house but she felt a strange sadness as she looked around the bare room. This had been her home for the last six years, there had been good as well as bad memories in this place:_

_Luke had taken his first steps in the kitchen… Garrett and Lucy had announced their engagement during a Halloween party Melanie had thrown… and just here in the doorway… was the place that her dad had told her how much he loved her… for the last time._

_Sniffing, Melanie laughed a little at herself as she wiped her eyes. After everything she had been through, getting emotional about moving seemed almost silly. She was too deep in thought, that she didn't hear Joel come up behind her and pull her close against him._

_"__Everything okay?" he asked concerned, pressing a kiss to her head._

_Putting her hands over his, Melanie nodded and let out a sigh, "Just… just gonna miss the old place," she said softly, looking around one last time, "so many memories here, y'know?"_

_"__I understand," Joel said sweetly, resting his chin on her shoulder "but at least… you'll be making new memories, with me and Sarah. I know it's not the same…"_

_Turning, Melanie put a finger against his lips, "You're right, it's not the same… its better," she said smiling at him, "I can't live in the past forever. This is a new chapter in my life and I can't wait to start it with you." _

_"__And glad I am to hear it," Joel whispered, his eyes full of happiness as he looked at her lovingly "we've had a hell of a ride but I have a feeling it's gonna be easy sailing from now on."_

_Melanie nodded "I think you're right," she said and took a deep breath, "come on, shouldn't keep the others waiting."_

_She went to pick up her bag but Joel put up a hand and did it instead, "I can't tell you how happy this makes me," he whispered, looking at her with a smile on his face "to know I get to wake up with you every day."_

_"__Unless you piss me off," Melanie teased as she slipped an arm around his waist, "then you'll be waking up on the couch."_

_Joel laughed loudly as they headed outside to his truck, "Well, I'll just have to try and not piss you off then," he said opening the door and holding it open for her, "can't have my girl unhappy."_

_"__I'll remember that," Melanie said kissing his lips lightly before jumping into the van, "now how about you get us home?"_

_Closing the door, Joel's smile grew as he gazed at her, "I like the sound of that," he said quietly, "let's go home."_


	20. Chapter Nineteen: Ghosts

"Well, this is a good sign."

Joel glanced sideways at Melanie and seen a small smile on her face, frowning a little he was about to ask her what she was talking about when he followed her eye line and seen what she was looking at.

"HOSPITAL. NEXT EXIT."

Chuckling a little, he fixed his backpack and nodded, "Literally and figuratively," he replied and Melanie let out an exhale of amusement, "should get there before morning."

"Hopefully we'll be able to sleep on one of the hospital beds tonight," Melanie said, stretching out her back and wincing a little, "the ground isn't particularly soft."

Joel had to agree with her there, they hadn't found many safe places to sleep while travelling to Salt Lake City and he would never use any of the mouldy and blood stained blankets they had found. The ground or even the floor of an abandoned house had been their bed and hadn't been comfortable at all.

"Hey, Ellie. Looks like we're getting close," Joel said trying to sound pleased about it and turned to talk to the small girl but frowned when she wasn't behind them and instead further back down the motorway staring at a stone wall.

Melanie sighed softly, "She's gotta stop doing that," she muttered, running a hand through her hair, "it isn't safe."

"She needs to snap out of it," Joel said heatedly but he wasn't really angry at Ellie, he was angry at the fuckwit who made her like this and couldn't help but wish it was himself who killed him and not Ellie. He could have lived with this blood on his hands but it was clear Ellie was struggling to overcome what happened in the town.

A hand on his arm made him grow quiet and he turned to look into Melanie's softened eyes, "Take it easy on her," she said quietly, her eyes flickering over to Ellie "she's been through enough without us coming down on her."

Breathing heavily through his nose, Joel nodded and called out her name, "Ellie!" he closed his eyes and counted to ten when she didn't even acknowledge him: what he wouldn't give just to have her back to her usual self telling him bad puns.

"Ellie?" Melanie called out a little louder and Ellie seemed to snap out of it and looked over at them.

Joel seen the distant look in her eyes and sighed, "Didn't you hear us yelling?" he asked.

"No. What?"

He noticed the lack of energy in her voice and forced himself to put on a calmer tone, "Look," he said indicating to the sign, "Hospital. This is where we get off."

"Should make it there by tonight," Melanie said encouragingly, smiling at her as Ellie caught up to them, "can't believe we've nearly made it."

"Yeah… can't believe it," Ellie repeated lamely and Joel shared a worried look with Melanie.

He gave her a nod and forced a smile, "Let's go kiddo."

As they walked along the motorway in silence, Joel glanced sideways at Ellie and couldn't help but feel worried about her. She had been too damn quiet for his liking and barely ate or slept. The bags under her eyes had gotten darker and she had become quite gaunt looking in the face. He had lost his temper one night and demanded she ate all her dinner but the terrified look on her face made him immediately regret his words and he had apologized.

His eyes flickered up to Melanie and for what felt like the thousandth time, he felt glad that he had her with him and that Ellie had her as well. She just had a way with Ellie and could gently coax her into eating a bit more or even to take a short nap, the younger girl barely spoke back but Joel could tell Melanie's presence soothed her a little and for that he was glad.

Feeling the slight wind on his face, Joel closed his eyes and smiled, "Heh. You feel that breeze, huh?" he asked, breaking the silence, "I tell you, on a day like this. I'd just sit on my porch, pick away at my six-string."

"Yeah, when no one else was around," Melanie snorted, rolling her eyes at him, "in all the years I've known you, not once have I heard you play the guitar. I'm quite disappointed."

Joel grinned back at her, "You never know, might find one on our travels and your wish will come true," he hesitated before smiling at Ellie whose eyes were on the ground as she walked around the cars, "and then I could teach Ellie how to play it, once we're done with this whole thing."

"Now I'm hoping we do find one," Melanie said, smiling at him, "that'd be a sight to see."

"Yeah, I reckon you'd really like that," Joel chuckled and then realized that Ellie hadn't said anything and looked back over at her, "Whaddya say, huh?" when she didn't reply, Joel sighed again, "Ellie, I'm talkin' to you."

Shaking her head, Ellie glanced at him "Huh? Oh yeah, sure," she mumbled, "that sounds… that sounds great."

"Hey, those bodies look fresh," Melanie pointed out, "how about we take a breather and see if we can find anything useful. We're running a little low on ammo."

Joel nodded in agreement, "Okay, you two take those tents over there and I'll check out this RV," he said taking out his gun as a precaution, "be careful."

"It's me who should be saying that to you," Melanie pointed out and got out the pistol he had given her, "come on Ellie, over here."

Watching as Ellie followed her silently, Joel let out a haggard sigh and rubbed his face with his free hand. He just hoped this got better, he didn't know how much more of this Ellie he could take. Walking up to the RV, he noticed a decomposing body in the doorway and curled his lip in disgust. Twenty odd years and he still couldn't get used to the smell of death.

Stepping over the body, he glanced around the inside of the small RV and seen that there were no real threats and put away his gun. Looking in a few drawers, he found a handgun and a box of bullets, "Just what I like to find," he murmured and checked the shelves and found some painkillers that wouldn't go unused.

He was about to leave the RV when a photograph on another body made him stop. Narrowing his eyes, he walked to the end where the body was slumped against the bed and bent down to pick it up.

And then he felt his heart sink.

It was a picture of a woman and a man holding a twin boy each in their arms while laughing at the camera. Joel gripped the photo hard and felt his hand shake a little, it was a picture of Lucy and Garrett with the boys.

He had found them.

Looking over to the bed, he felt himself get misty-eyed when he seen two small figures under white sheets with a single bloody bullet hole at where the head would be. He wondered if one of the twins or both had been infected… there was no way in hell that Lucy or Garrett would willingly kill their own children, there would have needed to be a good god-damn reason.

But then they wouldn't have been able to live with themselves, the twins were their whole world and without them – especially in this new world they had to live in – they probably wouldn't have wanted to go on. Garrett probably was the one who did it… his last act as a husband to not let his wife suffer before shooting himself in the head.

Covering his mouth, he stood there for a minute and looked down at the rotting corpse of Melanie's sister. His heart clenched in his chest at the thought of telling Melanie about his find. She would be heartbroken.

After the night where it all happened, Melanie had desperately tried to find out what had happened to her sister and her family. She had bribed soldiers and everything but to no avail. It had taken her a while to stop trying but then she had a firm belief that Lucy and Garrett were somewhere safe with the boys.

When all along they had been here… rotting away.

Letting out a shaky breath, he knelt down and looked at the body of Lucy, "I'm sorry…" he whispered, "I'm sorry we didn't find you and the boys sooner…I'm… I'm _sorry_..." shaking his head, he actually had to compose himself before looking up again "I promise I'll look out for Melanie… I'll keep her safe. I promise Lucy."

Straightening up, he looked one more time at the photo and then gently put it beside Lucy. "I'm sorry," he repeated one more time, "but I can't break her heart again. I just don't have it in me."

Hoping he made the right choice, he stepped slowly out and gave a sad look down at Garrett's corpse in the doorway. A bullet hole was visible on the left side of his skull… his last sight before dying was his dead wife and children who he had just shot.

"Find anything?"

He looked up to see Melanie and Ellie waiting further ahead and he took a deep breath before nodding, "Some ammo and another gun," he said, walking towards them, "plus some painkillers."

"Unlike us, who didn't find anything," Melanie sighed, "tents have been picked clean. Probably the Fireflies. Hopefully not bandits."

They were about to move on when Ellie surprised them both and spoke up, "I dreamt about flying the other night," she said casually, looking at an advert of a plane on the side of a rusty bus.

"Oh yeah?" Joel asked, glad of the distraction, "go on tell us about it."

Ellie kept her eyes on the plane as she spoke, "So, I'm on this big plane full of people… and everyone is screaming and yelling 'cause the plane's going down. So I walk to the cockpit, open the door but there's no pilot."

"And… then what happened?" Melanie asked hesitantly, giving Joel a sideways look.

"I try to use the controls but… I obviously have no clue how to fly a plane," Ellie looked up at Joel with a slight hint of sadness in her eyes "and right before we crash, I wake up," she frowned a little and glanced back at the advert, "I've never been on a plane. Isn't that weird?"

Melanie shook her head, "You haven't missed much," she said jokingly "makes your ears pop and you get leg cramp from sitting for so long. Wasn't fun at all. Me and Lucy had to get stinkin' drunk on the flight home so we would sleep through it."

"Well, you know, dreams are weird," Joel said changing the subject off of Melanie's sister as her rotting corpse went through his mind, "I wouldn't think much of it kiddo."

They continued along the motorway, heading down towards a deserted quarantine zone which brought back memories to Joel. Bad ones that he didn't care to think about. "Look at this… another city, another abandoned quarantine zone," he muttered.

"Takes me back," Melanie said softly, looking sadly around the area "wonder how many people came through here."

Joel turned away and looked over to see several cars crashed into the exit, "Come on looks like we'll need to climb over."

He stopped and helped Melanie to climb up on one of the cars and watched as she then got onto the top of the bus. Glancing behind him, he seen Ellie dawdling behind and forced himself to join Melanie on the roof: mollycoddling her wouldn't help.

"Hey, do you think that's it," Melanie said pointing out a building to him, "looks like we're close."

Joel nodded, "Yeah, I think that's the hospital the Firefly mentioned," he was glad to see that Ellie had caught up with them and gave her a smile that she weakly returned, "c'mon kiddo, let's find these Fireflies."


	21. Chapter Twenty: One Moment of Peace

"Well, we could use that ladder."

Nodding, Melanie looked up at it and knew that it was within her reach if Joel helped her, "Well, if you give me a boost up," she said glancing at him, "I'll be able to reach it."

"Yeah… I think I'll get Ellie to get the ladder."

Melanie shot Joel an indignant look, "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, frowning at him.

"I'm still recovering from my injury," Joel said quickly but Melanie seen a flicker of amusement in his eyes, "you don't want me getting hurt again, do you?

She shook her head but a small smile was on her face, "Whatever, Ellie, you better help him out before I knock him out."

Joel chuckled and knelt down, "Here we go," he muttered and then after a few moments they both looked around for Ellie and Melanie seen her sitting on a bench staring into space. Sharing a look with Joel, they both sighed at the same time and Joel took a step forward, a concerned look on his face.

"Ellie?"

"What?"

Melanie hated how defeated the young girl sounded, "You need to get the ladder," she said, smiling a little "apparently I'm too heavy."

"I never said that."

Ellie didn't smile with the two adults or made any inclination that she had heard Melanie's comment. Joel raised an eyebrow at Melanie and she just shrugged: she didn't have the answer to their problem.

"Right… let's do this," Ellie muttered and Joel hoisted her up towards the ledge, where she scrambled over. Melanie noticed the small grimace of pain on Joel's face as he bent over slightly with his hand on his stomach.

"Okay… I'll let you off," she smiled, folding her arms and waiting for Ellie to drop the ladder, "you're still in recovery."

Joel looked up and grinned, "Awful kind of you," he said, coming to stand next to her and peering up to where Ellie had disappeared too, "I could get used to this side of you."

"I wouldn't… soon as you're properly healed, you're giving me one boost up to prove I'm not heavy."

Laughing, Joel shook his head as the ladder scraped against the ground above them, "I've carried you plenty of times in the past," he said almost smirking, "and that was when you were eating properly."

Melanie remembered very well of when he had carried her and turned her head slightly, hoping that she wasn't blushing. "Just get the damn ladder-"

"Oh my god!" Ellie exclaimed quickly and dropped the ladder unceremoniously before running off.

The teasing left Melanie and Joel as they quickly rushed forward, "Whoa! Ellie!" Joel shouted and grabbed the ladder to stand it upright.

"I don't think anything heard us," Melanie said warily, glancing behind them and hoping that it was true, "but we shouldn't dilly dally down here."

"ELLIE!"

Rolling her eyes, Melanie didn't bother trying to shush Joel as he anxiously climbed up the ladder, "What the hell is up with her?" he muttered and Melanie shrugged, climbing up after him.

"OH! You guys gotta see this!"

"It must be something interesting," Melanie said thoughtfully as she got to the top, "she hasn't been this enthusiastic about anything in months."

They followed an excited Ellie through the building and everytime they passed a window, she would babble about something amazing that she had seen but Joel and Melanie wouldn't see anything.

Running along a corridor, Ellie looked over her shoulder at them both and beamed, "Come on, you aren't gonna believe this!" she said happily.

"What exactly are we chasing?" Melanie asked, feeling confused about the situation as they rounded a corner, "I think maybe that you hit your-

The words died in her mouth as she walked into the room and seen what Ellie was making such a fuss about. Eating leaves growing up the side of the building was a full grown, live giraffe. Smiling widely, Melanie took a cautious step forward and looked at Joel as he entered the room.

"You see this?" Ellie whispered, her grin growing wider as she turned to look at the giraffe again, "I can't believe it."

Melanie shook her head slowly, "Well… I wasn't expecting this," she said softly.

The giraffe's ears twitched as they spoke and its beautiful brown eyes regarded them for a moment before returning to its eating. Melanie was awestruck as she watched it eat, she had never seen a giraffe before and would never in a million years expect to see one in this day and age.

Out of the corner of her eye, she seen Joel walk forward slowly and Ellie's eyes widened in protest, "Shh!" she hissed, "don't scare it!"

"I won't… I won't…" Joel glanced back at both of them with a carefree smile on his face that Melanie hadn't seen in a very long time, "ever petted a giraffe before?"

Watching in disbelief, Melanie seen him reach out and pet it's neck softly, "What are you doing?" Ellie asked but she slowly made her way over.

"C'mere… the both of you," Joel whispered, "when are we gonna be able to do this again?"

Melanie walked over and stood behind Ellie and reached out to stroke the giraffe. Its coat was unbelievably soft and she couldn't help but smile more as she ran her fingers up and down its neck. In the background, more giraffes walked by and she felt as if she were dreaming.

Glancing down, she felt like crying when she seen the look of wonder on Ellie's face as she petted the giraffe, "Hey, there," she said softly, looking so happy for the first time in months. The giraffe finished eating and with one last look at the three of them, moved it's long neck and walked away to join the others.

"So fucking cool," Ellie said breathlessly as they all watched the giraffes walk away, "I can't believe that just happened."

As they began to disappear from sight, Ellie shook her head, "Aw. Where are they off too," she glanced around and spotted a door, "Here, c'mon! Let's see where they go."

Sharing a smile, Joel and Melanie followed her through the door "Slow down, kiddo," Joel chuckled "no need to rush off."

"Come on! We're gonna lose them," Ellie said impatiently, sounding like a child again.

Melanie groaned a little when she seen the two flights of stairs, "She's expecting us to run up them, isn't she?" she asked Joel tiredly.

"Hurry up! C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!"

Joel laughed, "I think you have your answer, 'Mel."

Eventually, they made it to a viewing platform and had a perfect view of the giraffes ambling slowly away. Melanie came to stand next to Ellie, who gave her a quick smile, "Wow… would you just look at those things," she whispered.

"They're certainly something," Melanie replied quietly and leaned against the railings to watch them, the sun was beginning to set and there was a scenic glow and she felt the warm rays against her skin. It had been long time since she had had a moment like this.

Joel put both his hands on the stone wall and glanced at Ellie, "So…" he said quietly, his eyes softening a little as he spoke to the younger girl, "this everything you were hoping for?"

"It's got its ups and downs," Ellie said after a moment, giving Joel a small smile "but…" she sighed contently "you can't deny the view, though."

Melanie let out a long held in breath and took in the view: Ellie was right, you couldn't deny a view like this. Even with a ruined and abandoned city, nature had flourished and reminded them all that there was still some beauty in this world. You just had to look for it. The giraffes slowly melted from view and she closed her eyes, enjoying the peace in that moment.

She heard movement and opened her eyes to see Joel push off from the wall and head to the door behind them, looking down at Ellie she smiled at how content she looked and hoped that this good mood would last for the remainder of their journey. It was good to see her smiling again.

"C'mon sweetie," Melanie said almost reluctantly, putting an arm around Ellie's shoulders, "we're burning daylight."

Giving the giraffe's one last look, Ellie nodded and smiled at her, "Yeah… let's finish this."

As they made their way over to Joel, Melanie frowned a little at the conflicted look on his face but didn't need to wait long to find out what was on his mind. "We don't have to do this," he said quietly, turning to look at them, "you know that right?"

"What's the other option?" Ellie asked, sounding quite confused and she glanced up at Melanie to see if she knew what Joel was trying to say.

"Go back to Tommy's. Just… be done with this whole damn thing."

Melanie felt her eyes widen a little at Joel's comment, he hadn't mentioned his plans as to where he would go after Ellie helped the Fireflies and she felt like there were butterflies in her stomach when she heard him say that.

_This means he won't leave again…._

Ellie sighed a little, "After all we've been through," she asked, raising an eyebrow then she grew quiet, "Everything that _I've_ done…"

"Ellie… this is completely your choice," Melanie said kneeling down so she was at her eye-level, "whatever you want to do… we'll be behind you 110%. Whether it's going to the Fireflies… or going back to Tommy's… it's up to you, sweetie."

Looking at them both, Ellie seemed to be thinking hard about her answer before she shook her head, "No… it can't be for nothing," she said firmly, "we're going to the Fireflies," and with that, she pushed past Joel and walked through the door.

"You okay with that?" Melanie asked softly, sensing that that wasn't the answer Joel had wanted to hear.

He didn't answer straight away and instead looked over to where the last giraffe was walking into the treeline and out of sight, "It's her choice," he said distantly, and held the door open for Melanie, "we have to respect that."

Instead of walking through the door and leaving it to that, Melanie cupped Joel's face gently and her eyes softened when he looked at her, "It's gonna be okay," she whispered, "you know that, right?"

"I hope you're right," he answered sadly "we've been through enough shit already."

"You're not wrong there," Melanie said, smiling weakly, her hand dropped and she averted her eyes "come on, we should get going."

* * *

Ellie leaned against the staircase and thought about what Joel and Melanie had said. Ever since Marlene had found out about her immunity, all anyone had talked about was getting her to the lab and finding a cure. There hadn't been any options but now… now there was.

At the start, she and Joel had disliked each other but now everything that they had been through, she couldn't imagine being without him… or Melanie. She didn't feel like a burden anymore, instead Ellie felt like part of a team and they treated her like an adult, giving her a choice about her life, seeing past whatever it was she had that stopped her turning and just seeing the young girl who had a right to choose her own path in life.

Letting out a shaky breath, Ellie looked up to see them both walk down the stairs slowly. Melanie gave her a soft smile while Joel just kept his eyes on the ground. She knew that he wanted to return to Tommy's… but she couldn't live with herself knowing she could have cured whatever it was that causes the infection… she could make a difference and she planned on doing exactly that.

"Look, I know you both mean well…" Ellie's voice echoed around the stairwell and made both the adults stop and listen, "but there's no half-way with this. Once we're done, we'll go where ever you want. Okay?"

Melanie nodded, "We're behind you all the way, don't worry."

"Yeah… well, I ain't leavin' without ya," Joel said firmly, sounding as if he was making a promise to her, "so let's go wrap this up."

Ellie couldn't help but smile as he walked past her and lead the way down the stairs, she glanced at Melanie who also seemed glad of Joel's words. Without saying anything, they both headed towards the door and made their way back outside into the fresh air and sunshine.

She walked in between the two adults and took the time to look around: there were abandoned stage coaches littered around and tents that were still standing. Ellie couldn't imagine what it had been like when the world first started going to shit and the panic that Melanie, Tommy and Joel had to live through after losing Sarah. Staring sadly down at a backpack that had been ripped apart, she remembered Riley and realized that she had known the pain of losing someone to all this madness.

"Well, this brings back memories," Melanie said quietly, her voice bringing Ellie out of her thoughts a she looked up to see the older woman gazing at the medic tents.

"How so?" she asked curiously.

Joel stepped forward and nodded slowly, "It was right after everything went down. We ended up in a triage just like this," his face grew solemn as he seemed to relive that night, "man… everywhere you looked, you just… saw families torn apart. The whole damn world seemed to have turned upside down in a blink."

Ellie bit her lip unsure of whether or not to ask the question she had in mind but her curiosity won, "Is that after… you lost Sarah?"

"Yes… it was."

Melanie had grown quiet and avoided looking at either of them and Ellie regretted asking, "I… can't imagine losing someone you love like that, losing everything you know," she looked up at Joel who was looking at her sadly "I'm sorry Joel."

"That's okay, Ellie," Joel nodded and gave her a weak smile, "thank you."

He walked by and searched for anything useful as Melanie kept watch outside, Ellie however looked around the inside of the tent and took in the overturned beds and blood stains still on the floor. She could stop this… stop another family from losing a daughter, a father or a mother. Clenching her fists, she nodded to herself and whispered so quietly only she could hear.

"_I'm gonna fix this…_"

Looking up at the two adults, she remembered something she had taken from Tommy's that seemed like a lifetime ago. Shrugging off her backpack, she felt past the gun and ammo in her pack and found what she was looking for between the pages of the book of bad puns she had picked up ages ago.

"Hey Joel!" she called out, her throat going dry at the thought of giving him this, "I got something for you."

Melanie turned around at the sound of her voice and she watched from the side lines as Joel walked up to Ellie with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah, what is it?" he asked, a small grin playing on his lips, "Is it another bad pun?"

"You should be so lucky," Ellie joked but grew serious again as she took out the photograph and held it out to him, "Here. Maria showed this to me and I uh… I stole it," she said quickly, hating how silent he was as he looked down at the photo in her hand, "I hope you don't mind."

Slowly, Joel took the photo and looked at it carefully – Ellie personally thought it was a good photo. Sarah looked so happy holding a trophy while Joel and Melanie hugged her tightly, all three of them smiling widely at the camera. Melanie walked over and she seemed on the verge of tears when she seen what he was holding.

"That was a good day," she said faintly, a small smile tugging on the corner of her lips "I don't think I've ever got so excited about sports before. She played… amazingly that day," she added wiping her eyes quickly.

Ellie bit her lip as she seen Joel gaze intently at the smiling face of his daughter, "You okay Joel?" she asked concerned when she caught sight of his hands shaking slightly.

Seeing Melanie give him an equally concerned look, it was a moment before Joel answered them: letting out a shaky breath he pinched the bridge of his nose before carefully folding the photo and putting it into his pocket, "Well, no matter how hard you try. I guess you can't escape your past," he murmured before looking at Ellie and nodding slowly, "Thank you… this means a lot."

"No problem," Ellie replied quietly and smiled again "c'mon enough mushiness… let's get to this hospital."

**A/N **

**Hey there, hope you are all still enjoying this story! Sorry for such a long wait! Was going through some personal problems with my depression but I'm back now and determined to finish this story.**

**Thank you for all the reviews, views and basically for reading my story. It means a lot. And sorry for not replying to reviews for some reason my account won't let me reply.**

**Next chapter is going to be angsty as you all know if you've played the game. I just wanted these two chapters to be the fillers as I love the dialogue and especially the cutscene with the giraffes and the moment Ellie gives Joel the photo.**

**Enough rambling, it's 03:12am where I am and I'm working tomorrow :)**

**~BSI**


	22. Chapter Twenty One: To Kill A Firefly

Melanie felt as if her head was swimming and blinked blearily as the bright light shone down on her, frowning a little, she tried to lift her head but the blinding pain made her hiss and lower her head again. Where the hell was she?

The last thing she remembered was the water surrounding her and Joel shouting her name.

"Didn't think I'd ever see you again."

That voice sounded familiar and Melanie turned her head, hating how blurry her vision was, after a few moments the blur vanished and she seen a serious looking Marlene sitting beside the bed in a chair.

"Marlene?"

The leader of the Fireflies smiled, "Been a while Melanie… you're lucky my boys found you when they did. Or else we might not have had this conversation."

_"__Oh boy…"_

_"__Just let me go ahead and you follow my lead…"_

_"__Joel, this is too dangerous…"_

_"__We'll be fine. I promise."_

Frowning, Melanie remembered the tunnel full of water, the current had been incredibly fast and she was reluctant to walk along the tops of buses and other motors to reach the end. "You found us?" Melanie repeated, "In the tunnel?"

"Yeah… you and the girl were unconscious… Joel was trying to do CPR," Marlene frowned a little, "you have a large cut on your head. How'd that happen?"

Trying to remember, Melanie searched her memory and winced, "We were making our way across a bus… and that's when the shit hit the fan…."

…

_Melanie tried to compose herself as she watched Ellie hop down onto the bus first, did it just move? Or was it her imagination? Sighing, she slipped down off of the vent and gently set herself down on the bus. It groaned a little as she stepped towards Ellie and she gritted her teeth, "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!" she muttered and just wished they were at the end of the tunnel already._

_"Hey, it's okay," Ellie said, trying to reassure her, "We're almost there-"_

_As Melanie and Joel both walked forward, the bus began to move due to the added weight of the adults and Melanie kneeled down and desperately held onto the side to avoid falling in the water._

_"Oh shit! Ellie-Ellie MOVE!"_

_Ellie made it to the end but as Melanie tried to climb up beside her, the balcony gave way and she and Joel fell through the doors of the bus, gripping on, she tried not to panic as Ellie tried to reach them, "Oh shit! I got it! Joel, 'Mel?! Here, c'mon!"_

_Reaching out for her hand, Melanie almost had it when the bus moved again and the water hid hard against it making her lurch backwards and into the bus as did Joel. Ellie screamed at them both but the water flooded in and Melanie was unable to grab anything and was swept back, a pain in her head made her feel dazed as she smacked her head off of a seat._

_"Melanie!"_

_But then the bus gave another screechy groan and turned on its side, Melanie heard Joel shouting for Ellie to give him her hand before it all went dark and she slipped under the water._

….

"You're lucky as hell you didn't smash against anymore seats," Marlene said calmly as if this was an everyday subject, "our doctor patched you up, just a couple of stitches and he gave you some morphine for the pain."

Sitting up, Melanie tentatively felt her head and sighed: another scar to add to her collection. "Listen, thanks for… for saving me," she said slowly, looking at the other woman, "we didn't part particularly well so… yeah."

"You're welcome."

Deciding that she was strong enough, Melanie slowly moved herself to the edge of the bed and groaned at the dizziness she got, "Where's Joel and Ellie?" she asked, "Are they okay?"

"Joel's still…. _Asleep_," Marlene said snorting a little, "He wouldn't listen to my men so they had to knock him out… and Ellie…. Ellie is okay."

Melanie noticed the hesitation in her voice and she frowned, "I want to see them," she demanded firmly, "_both_ of them."

"I'll take you to see Joel but… you can't see the girl," Marlene said, her eyes hardening "she's being prepped for surgery."

"Surgery?"

Marlene nodded, "You knew she was the cure… this _has_ to happen. This time… this time it'll work."

"This time?" Melanie repeated and the narrowed her eyes onto Marlene, "You mean there's been others who have been immune?"

"Immune or slow to turn… but this time, we think Ellie is the answer to our prayers," a small smile appeared on Marlene's face, "We can win this thing… I know we can. Once the surgery's over, we can-"

"And what about Ellie?" Melanie interrupted her, "What happens to her after the surgery and you cut open her brain? If it didn't work before… how do you know it'll work now?"

Before Marlene could answer, there was a knock on the door and one of the Fireflies with a loaded gun stood at the door, "He's awake and getting pretty grouchy," he said gruffly, "keeps saying he wants to see this one and the girl."

"Okay… we'll be right there," Marlene sighed and rubbed her face tiredly: she suddenly looked twice her age, "I'll explain more to the both of you… hopefully your questions will be answered."

Feeling incredibly distrustful of her, Melanie reluctantly let her help her to the door and down the hall to the room where Joel was. Once she was inside, she seen him look instantly relieved as he lay on the bed.

"Thank fuck… when you disappeared under the water…" Joel sighed as Marlene helped her to sit on the bed next to him, "you okay?" he asked, noticing the cut on her head, "you're not too busted up?"

Melanie smiled at him and nodded, "I'm okay… I swear."

Joel glanced up at Marlene who just nodded, "Welcome to the Fireflies Joel," she said sarcastically and then indicated to his head, "sorry about the… they didn't know who you all were."

"And Ellie?" Joel asked urgently and Melanie's jaw tightened as she glared at Marlene.

"She's alright. They brought her back."

Shaking her head, Marlene looked at Joel disbelievingly "You came all this way… how'd you do it?"

"It was her," Joel said stiffly as he came to sit up on the bed, "she fought like hell to get here. We all did. Maybe it was meant to be."

"Or maybe not," Melanie muttered, looking down at her hands, "how about you tell us about Ellie now, never mind the bullshit."

Joel frowned, slightly confused, "What about Ellie?" he coughed and winced a little as he put his legs down on the ground, "take me to her."

"You don't have to worry about her anymore," Marlene's voice had grown colder and Joel's eyes looked up at her suspiciously, "we'll take care of-"

"I worry," he interrupted heatedly and stood up quickly, Melanie followed suit but gave the guard with the gun a wary look, "just let us see her."

Melanie shook her head, "Apparently we can't see her," she muttered, glancing at Joel "she's being prepped for surgery."

"The hell you mean… _surgery_?"

Looking hopeful, Marlene gave Joel a smile, "The doctors tell that the cordyceps, the growth inside her, has somehow mutated. It's why she's immune," she sighed and her smile grew "once they remove it, they'll be able to reverse engineer a vaccine. A _vaccine_!"

"But… it grows all over the brain," Joel whispered slowly, his frown deepening.

Marlene hesitated before nodding once, "It does…"

The tension in the air grew as Joel seemed to grow more furious "Find. Someone. Else," he ordered through gritted teeth but Marlene didn't seem threatened by him.

"There is no one else."

"How do you know?" Melanie snapped, Marlene's attention on her now, "You done a test on _every_ survivor to make sure? You said yourself there were others with this immunity… and still there's no cure. You are willing to _kill_ Ellie to chase a dream!"

"You know nothing," Marlene hissed, glaring at her "_this_ is our chance to take back this world and make it like it was before. You think Ellie wouldn't want that?"

Melanie raised an eyebrow, "Did you ask her before you put her under?" she asked sarcastically "Or did the Fireflies read her mind and just _decide_ her fate!"

Stepping forward, Joel pointed at Marlene, "Listen, you are gonna show us where-"

The soldier stepped forward quickly and hit Joel in the back with his gun, making him fall to his feet, Melanie felt the knife in her thigh holster but the gun was pointed at her before she could do anything. Glaring at Marlene, she watched as she shook her head at the solider.

"Stop," she ordered and then kneeled down to look at Joel who was struggling to catch his breath, "I get it. But whatever it is you think you're going through right now is _nothing_ to what I have been through. I knew her since she was born," Marlene seemed to be on the verge of tears as she looked down "I promised her mother I would look after her…"

"Then why are you letting this happen?" Joel asked desperately.

"Because this isn't about me!" Marlene straightened up tall and sighed again, "Or even her. There is _no_ other choice here."

Melanie fell silent but stepped forward to help Joel to stand, she couldn't believe what Marlene was saying and shook her head. "Yeah…" Joel whispered, standing up straight, his voice dangerously soft, "You keep telling yourself that bullshit."

There was a hint of fury in Marlene's eyes as she stood tall and glared at the two survivors, "March them outta here," she said coldly to the soldier, "either of them tries anything, shoot them."

"Now there's the Firefly hospitality I remember," Melanie said, feeling her anger build up within her, "shoot anyone who thinks differently."

Marlene shook her head, "Don't waste this gift you two…"

She left the room and Melanie stared after her, wondering how the hell she was going to sleep tonight knowing she murdered a little girl who she had promised to protect. Glancing at Joel, she seen the hopelessness in his eyes and knew it was gonna take a miracle to get all three of them out here alive.

"Go on… move," the soldier ordered, aiming his gun at Joel's head, "I ain't gonna ask twice."

As Joel walked by Melanie, he gave her a slight push and she just managed to hear him whisper to her quietly so the guard wouldn't hear, "_Stay in front_."

Heading out first, Melanie took in the corridor and noticed how there weren't any more guards or people on this floor. They were alone. Which could easily work out in their favour.

"Which way now?" Melanie asked quietly, glancing over her shoulder at the soldier who was watching her warily.

"Left… and don't try anything, dollface."

They seemed to be in the reception of the hospital and Melanie spotted their backpacks on the table, she kept walking wondering what Joel was going to do when she heard the soldier bark out another order.

"What the fuck are you doin'? Keep walking!" She turned just in time to see Joel standing still and the soldier angrily digging the gun into his back, "I said keep-"

There was a gunshot as Joel quickly elbowed the gun away and turned quickly to grab the gun and smash it into the soldier's face before pushing him against the wall, his arm against his neck and the gun aimed at his stomach. Melanie glanced around, hoping that the gunshot wouldn't bring more armed guards.

"Where is the operating room?" Joel snapped, adding more pressure to his hold but the soldier didn't say a word as his nose bled, "I ain't got time for this," Joel muttered, shaking his head and fired the gun, blood splattered from the man's stomach as his eyes widened in shock.

"Where?"

When there was yet again no answer, Joel made an angry noise and shot him in the stomach again, Melanie felt sick but she didn't let that show on her face. Again, they were doing this for Ellie. She was the priority here.

"WHERE!"

Rasping, the man seemed to be losing consciousness fast, "Top floor…. The-the far end," he finally coughed out and Joel seemed happy with his answer. He let him slump to the floor before shooting him in the head.

"Now we know where to go," Melanie said, ignoring the corpse at her feet and searching her backpack for her gun, "we better hurry."

"GUNSHOTS! SEARCH THE FLOOR!"

Putting the gun in the back of his jeans, Joel grabbed his backpack too and nodded, "We got this," he said, grabbing Melanie's hand and pulling her away from the voices, "we fuckin' got this."


	23. Chapter Twenty Two: Lights Fading

Melanie followed Joel up one flight of stairs and tried to not make much noise, they had locked the door tightly shut to stop any Fireflies following them but she didn't know what the plan was. "Hey, Joel," she said, slightly out of breath "what's the plan here?"

"We get Ellie the hell away from here," he said determinedly looking at her, "_that's_ the plan."

"There is a lot of Fireflies after us with _guns,_" Melanie pointed out, narrowing her eyes at him as they continued up the stairs, "we're no use to Ellie dead. We need to be careful, no more impulsive shooting."

Joel didn't answer her but when they reached the next level, they heard footsteps up above them and Melanie swore under her breath, "So what do you suggest?" Joel asked sarcastically as they ran into the next floor and into a darkened room, "I wouldn't want to be impulsive."

"Shut up and let me think," Melanie hissed, both of them silent as men ran by the room. Thinking a little, Melanie glanced out the door and seen that they were looking for them, "you have any of those nail bombs that Bill made you?"

Carefully looking through his pack, Joel nodded and reached in for something, "Lucky I made some during the winter, I got some smoke bombs to. They'll come in handy."

"For a distraction yeah," Melanie whispered, "we just need to be quiet and careful."

Joel went out first and quietly stood up and threw a nail bomb directly in the middle of a small group of Fireflies, there were shouts but they were too late before it exploded and they were all impaled with the nails.

Jumping out of the room through a window with no glass, Melanie spotted another Firefly on his own patrolling a corridor. Noticing that Joel was sneaking away to deal with two further down, she put her gun back in the holster and cautiously made her way towards him, taking out her knife as she did.

His breath was laboured as he looked about the rooms, his rifle light shining brightly in the darkness but that wasn't any help as Melanie stuck the knife in his throat and covered his mouth to stop him from shouting out. Trying not to vomit at the feel of the dying man writhing under her hand and the smell of blood, she gladly let him fall and wiped her hand on his shirt.

Joel came up and made her jump when he put his hand on her arm, "Look what I found," he whispered, showing her the assault rifle, "should come in handy if things get squirrelly."

"It certainly would-" Melanie stopped when they heard voices from behind them and they ducked down behind some tables and listened carefully. Frowning, Melanie guessed that it was a large group of men behind them and that a sneak attack was no good.

Joel glanced quickly around the corner and made an annoyed noise, "We need them to split up… be easier to take them out," he muttered.

Looking around, Melanie seen a dusty glass bottle lying on the ground and leaned over to pick it up, "What are you doing?" Joel asked confused as she snuck forward and raised her arm.

"Get ready to act fast," Melanie whispered and threw the bottle as hard as she could into the other side of the room.

As expected, when the glass shattered loudly in the silence, the Fireflies split up to investigate. Making it easy for Joel and Melanie to pick them off with his bow and arrow and her knife. Looking outside, Melanie seen that it was getting dark and began to panic about Ellie.

What if they were too late?

Joel seemed to have the same thought as he worriedly looked ahead, "We gotta step up our game," he said quietly, "we're runnin' outta time."

"You go on ahead," Melanie finally said as they heard more Fireflies approaching, "I'll hang back and get rid of these guys – and meet you up there."

He looked at her and shook his head, "Try the other way around," he said firmly, "I'm more-"

"Don't bother saying smarter because we both know that's a lie," Melanie interrupted with a weak smile, "I'm not talking about me sacrificing myself Joel. You get rid of any in your path to the stairs and I'll worry about the ones behind us. You're just wasting time arguing."

Joel sighed and nodded, "You're right… as always," he muttered and then looked at her, "you can be a right stubborn bitch at times, you know that?"

"I do."

He gave her one last look before making his way down the corridor and Melanie watched him leave before hurrying over to the corner where a large surgical table on it's side would provide her with cover. Picking up her gun, she seen a few Fireflies coming near and was glad when there were no lights to give her position away.

_Here we go…_

* * *

Joel heard the gunshots behind him and nearly stopped but thoughts of Ellie on the operating table made him keep going. As he ran towards the door, he just prayed that Melanie knew what she was doing and would be up here soon.

Pushing the door open, he seen the silhouettes of the doctors and operating equipment through the shadows and felt sickened at the thought of all the people who had their brains cut open for a cure that was never found. Ellie wouldn't be one of those… he would make sure of it.

Shakingly opening the door, his eyes widened at the sight of Ellie in a hospital gown lying still on the table. The doctor and two nurses stared at him in shock as the doctor stood poised at Ellie with the scalpel in his hand.

He had almost been too late.

"Sweet Jesus…"

The nurse began to panic and gave him a scared look, "Doctor?"

"What are you doing in here?" the doctor wearing medical scrubs glared at him behind his surgical mask, "You're going to contaminate my theatre."

They all stood still waiting for Joel's next move as he took a step into the room, the doctor made a frustrated noise and reached behind him for a gun and pointed it at Joel, "I _won't_ let you take her!" he said desperately "This is our future! Think of all the-"

Screaming echoed in the room as the doctor suddenly fell to the floor and Joel turned to see Melanie with a cut lip and a bruise already forming on her cheek as she lowered her gun, "Seems like I got here just in time," she said coming to stand next to him.

"You sure did…"

The nurse screamed again as the male nurse covered his mouth, "You fucking _animals_!" she shouted.

"Kari! Shut the hell up!" the male nurse pressed himself against the wall, looking at Joel and Melanie in fear. Melanie was about to speak when the male nurse suddenly ran towards Joel with a scalpel in his hand, shouting out, Melanie felt her ears ringing as Joel quickly shot him in the head and he fell to the ground with a sickening thud.

Keeping her gun on the scrub nurse who was whimpering in the corner, Melanie glanced quickly at Joel who was tenderly lifting Ellie off of the table and into his arms. "Come on baby girl," he whispered softly to the unconscious girl, "I gotcha…I gotcha…"

"Where's her medical file?" Melanie asked in a harsh tone, trying to intimidate the nurse as she knew they were running out of time, "I know you have one!"

Shakingly the nurse stood up and reached over the desk to a file lying on it, grabbing it, she slid it across the floor to Melanie. Who picked it up without lowering her gun, "You tell your friends that they ain't getting this girl," she said coldly "so don't bother coming after us."

The scrub nurse didn't reply and instead slid down the wall to the ground and began to cry into her knees as the doctor and other nurse lay bleeding on the floor not too far from her. Hearing shouting behind them, Melanie shared a worried look with Joel. "Oh shit," he muttered, "this way, come on."

Leading the way, Melanie felt her heard thudding in her chest as they ran down a corridor and she glanced up to see a sign indicating the way to the lift.

"Come on, this way!" she said, pointing ahead to Joel and she quickly fired her gun to make the Fireflies stall as they took a shortcut through a hospital room.

"Cover the exits! Don't let this fucker escape!"

Ellie's unconscious head flopped around in Joel's arms and he looked down at her worriedly, "I got you… I got you," he murmured, trying to focus on getting to the elevator and not on the Fireflies shouting behind him.

"Goddamnit!" Melanie cursed as they seen the corridor blocked off with hospital beds and Fireflies standing behind them, "Which way now!"

Joel thought quickly on his feet as Melanie covered them, "You've nowhere to go asshole! Give us the girl!"

"Mel! This way!" Joel said, ashamed that he kept Ellie in front of him but he knew that the Fireflies wouldn't shoot at him in case they hit Ellie, "locker room!"

Following him through the darkness, Melanie cursed when it seemed that the Fireflies were right behind them, "Go around the other side!"

"We're okay, we're okay!" Joel whispered more to himself than Ellie, he spotted the elevator ahead of them as they exited the locker room and he turned his head to Melanie as they began to run, "We're okay!"

"You can say that when we're away from this fucking place," Melanie said out of breath and then cried out when a bullet just missed her, "Fuck!"

Melanie fired her gun at the Fireflies following them while Joel slipped into the elevator. He hit a button quickly and the doors closed just in time as a Firefly ran towards them. Heart racing, she finally let out a shaky breath and leant against the wall. "That was too fuckin' close."

Joel was panting slightly as he shifted Ellie in his arms, "Tell me about it…" he whispered, looking over the young girl's face, "We need to get her outta here. Now."

"There should be cars in the basement," Melanie said, glancing at the descending numbers, "if I know Marlene, she'll have them at the ready in case they need to evacuate quickly."

Joel took a moment to catch his breath and then noticed the blood slowly spreading on Melanie's t-shirt, "You get hit?" he asked concerned, wishing he had a spare set of hands to make sure she was okay.

"I'm fine… bullet just grazed me," Melanie hissed a little as she pulled her top up gingerly, the blood sticking to her top, "just needs cleaned. I'll be okay."

Tearing his eyes away from her wound, Joel anxiously looked down at Ellie when she made a small noise and waited for a moment to see if she would wake up. Melanie stepped forward and gently took the younger girl's hand in hers and felt for a pulse.

"It's steady… she'll be alright once the drugs wear off," Melanie whispered, tenderly brushing her har out of her face, "I can't believe we nearly lost her…"

Joel's eyes flickered over Melanie's face as he looked down at her, "I nearly lost both of you…," he said slowly, Melanie's brown eyes meeting his, "I don't want that to ever happen again."

For a moment, Melanie seemed on the verge of saying something but she shook her head and gave him a faint smile, "I can't make any promises but I'll try to behave," she joked and Joel chuckled a little as they both looked down at Ellie.

The elevator kept descending and they were almost at the basement level and Joel looked at Melanie one last time before the doors opened, "I'm glad your with me," he said sincerely, "I didn't think I was ever gonna see you again."

"It hasn't all been fun and games," Melanie said quietly and glanced up at him, "but I'm glad too…" she paused before she cupped his cheek and smiled "I'm glad we were both proved wrong."

Their moment ended when the doors opened and Melanie went back into survival mode, with her hand leaving Joel's cheek and grabbing her gun, "Come on, one of these cars will probably have supplies in it."

"Wait," Joel shifted Ellie in his arms and hit the red button on the elevator so the Fireflies wouldn't be able to use it once they got out, "okay, come on. Let's go."

He was going to head over to the cars when Melanie suddenly turned and raised her gun, glaring at someone over his shoulder, "Put the gun down!"

"You can't save her!" Marlene's voice rang out as she approached them warily with her gun raised also, "Even if you get her out of here, then what?"

Melanie looked to Joel quickly and then shook her head, "She'll be safer with us then with you."

"How long before she's torn to pieces by a pack of clickers?" Marlene demanded, looking at them seriously "That is if she hasn't been raped and _murdered_ first."

After what happened in the town with David, Marlene had chosen the wrong words and Joel's eyes clouded with anger, "That _ain't_ for _you_ to decide," he snarled through gritted teeth, holding Ellie tightly against him.

"It's what she'd want!" Marlene said, her voice growing soft all of a sudden as she looked at them pleadingly "and you both know it."

Melanie felt her heart sink as she realized what Marlene said was half true but she didn't lower her gun one inch, "Ellie didn't know all the facts Marlene," she said firmly "she didn't know how you were going to get this cure. And _you_ know _it_!"

"Look…" Marlene said after a moment of silence, slowly lowering her gun and looking at Joel "You can still do the right thing here… she won't feel anything…."

Melanie shared a look with Joel and he sighed before looking down at Ellie, "You're right… we should do the right thing," he murmured.


	24. Chapter Twenty Three: In My Arms

The silence in the car was almost deafening as Melanie stared listlessly out of the window, thinking about what they had done and if they had done the right thing. Much to her surprise, the road was nearly clear and they didn't have any trouble at all with diversions when leaving the hospital. The sun was coming up and in the early morning sunshine, everything looked strangely normal like before.

How deceiving looks could be.

Joel sighed a little beside her and Melanie lifted her head a little from the seat and glanced at him, "Are you okay?" she asked softly and he looked at her quickly before his eyes went back on the road.

"Did we do the right thing?"

"Bit late to be thinking that now," Melanie whispered, looking over her shoulder at the sleeping Ellie on the back seat, "main thing is she's still alive."

Shaking his head, Joel looked slightly guilty, "I'm not sure that Ellie will see it that way…"

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her," Melanie replied sadly, "I hate lying to her but-"

"But nothing," Joel interrupted a little heatedly "she should know the truth about what was going to happen."

Melanie bit her tongue to stop herself from snapping at him as she raised an eyebrow, "Are you telling me, you've never lied to someone you care about to avoid hurting them?" she asked, Joel looked over at her with a guilty look in his eyes "Yeah, I thought so. In the long run, will it really matter? The doctor's dead, Marlene's… well, I doubt they'll be anyone there who can do the surgery now."

"You're right… I have done that," Joel murmured and Melanie wondered who he was talking about, "leave it to me."

They fell back into silence and Melanie sighed this time and winced a little at the pain in her side as she shifted in her seat and closed her eyes. She must have dozed off for a while as when she woke up, the sun had went behind a cloud and it had gotten slightly darker.

She was about to ask Joel if he wanted her to drive when there was a small groan from the back seat and she turned to see Ellie rubbing her face and slowly waking up.

"What the hell am I wearing?" she asked groggily and Joel shared a look with Melanie before looking out onto the road again.

"Just take it easy… drugs are still wearing off."

Melanie kept silent but knew the inevitable question was going to be asked anytime now.

_"__What happened?_"

Joel was quiet for a minute before he looked in the rear-view mirror at Ellie "We found the Fireflies…."

Melanie thought back to the basement, of how Marlene had walked towards them, her gun on the ground and a small smile on her face as she looked at them _"I knew you would do the right thing_," she had whispered, her eyes falling onto Ellie.

"Turns out, there's a whole lot more like you, Ellie. People that are immune. It's dozens actually, ain't done a damn bit of good neither."

In her head, Melanie could still see the shocked look on Marlene's face as she fired her gun at her and shot her in the stomach. The look of betrayal as she fell to the ground and how Joel and she had looked at each other calmly. Thinking they had done the _right_ thing.

"They've sto-" Joel stopped talking and closed his eyes before continuing, "They've _stopped_ looking for a cure."

Melanie heard Ellie's breath hitch in her throat and nodded slowly, "We're going home," she said quietly looking over her shoulder, "you don't need to worry about the Fireflies anymore."

It broke her heart to see the young girl look so upset and turn away from her hugging herself tightly. Turning back, she glanced at Joel and seen a guilty look on his face, letting out a shaky breath, she reached over and entwined her fingers with his and squeezed his hand gently. Joel sighed sadly but gripped her hand tight in his and kept driving.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly.

* * *

"Come on, we need to get out of here before the rest find us," Melanie said, not even looking at Marlene as she walked over and looked inside of the car and let out a sigh of relief, "This one still has its keys in. Thank god."

She opened the door and held it open for Joel to carefully lie Ellie on the back seat, they heard a strangled cry from behind them and Melanie turned to see Marlene trying to crawl away from a pool of her own blood. Pushing Ellie up a bit more on the seat, Melanie shut the door and looked at Joel.

"What do we do with her?" she whispered and Joel hesitated before bringing out his gun.

"Let me handle her."

Staying by the car as Joel approached Marlene, Melanie bit her lip and glanced through the window at Ellie, if they had been a few minutes later, who knows what might have happened. They might have been shot… or not escaped with Ellie at all.

"WAIT!"

Turning quickly, Melanie seen Joel standing in front of Marlene with his gun still lowered, "Let me go," Marlene begged, her bare arms and hands covered in her own blood, "_please_!"

"You'd just come after her," Joel said quietly, glaring at the woman and raised his gun to point it at her head.

Melanie closed her eyes as the gunshot went off and glanced back to see the mangled mess that was Marlene's head slumped on the floor. Looking up at Joel, she noticed how he averted his eyes and headed for the front seat, "Let's go," he said gruffly but Melanie grabbed his arm and looked at him.

"We did the right thing Joel," she whispered, "I hope you know that."

He looked down at her and nodded slowly, "I know… just… just wished it worked out differently."

"Same here… but it is what it is… we just gotta live with it."

Joel smoothed her hair away from her face and his thumb gently swept across her cut lip, "You'll need to direct me back to Tommy's," he said softly, "back _home_."

Melanie couldn't help but smile at his words and she nodded, "Well, we better hop to it," she said and opened the front passenger door and got in the car.

A/N

Thought I uploaded this! So technically, a new chapter that takes place before the other new chapter. LOL enjoy :) Thank you all for the reviews and views xx


	25. Chapter Twenty Four: Safe for Now

The car slowed down outside of the seemingly empty farmhouse and Melanie warily looked around as Joel switched off the engine. They had been driving for a while now and Melanie was so tired that she could barely keep her eyes open. Ellie had not spoken a word to them since the hospital but was now sitting up in the back seat and peering at the house.

"I'm gonna go inside and check it out," Joel said quietly, his eyes on the farmhouse, "you two stay in here. Do _not_ leave this car unless I give the okay."

Melanie sighed and ran a hand through her hair: usually she would argue that he shouldn't go in there alone but after everything she was just too damn tired. "Fine, just be careful," she sat back in the chair and gave him a faint smile "I think we've used up all of our luck by now."

"Yeah, I think so too," Joel nodded, a ghost of his old smile on his face before his eyes flickered to Ellie, "keep an eye out for trouble."

Melanie watched as Ellie hesitantly met his eyes before looking back out the window, "Whatever," she muttered and hugged herself tightly.

"Yeah, whatever," Joel repeated almost sadly and got out of the car with his gun in his hand and began to walk towards the farmhouse. Locking the doors, Melanie sat back and kept a close eye on him and couldn't help but cross her fingers that he wouldn't run into any more trouble.

She hated the silence in the car and wished that Ellie would speak to them both about what had happened. Obviously something was annoying her and Melanie wondered what it could be. And once again she wondered if they should tell Ellie the truth about what the Fireflies were really going to do… but it wasn't her call.

"So… we're all gonna live happily ever after at Tommy's?" Ellie asked, her voice emotionless and flat.

Melanie turned slightly in her chair and gave her a small nod, "That's the plan… I think you'll like it there," she said softly, noticing how Ellie looked away almost guiltily, "there's other kids your age so you won't be stuck with old folks like Joel and I all the time."

"Silver lining, huh?" Ellie's attempt at sarcasm relaxed Melanie a little: she was just glad to know there was still a bit of the old Ellie there.

"You could say that," Melanie looked towards the house and felt relieved when Joel walked out of the front door and nodded at her, "looks like we've found a place for the night."

Getting out the door, Melanie kept one hand on her gun as Joel came to a stop in front of the car, "Is it empty?" she asked, knowing already it would be.

"Sure is, I'm just gonna hide the car round back," Joel answered, "don't want anyone seeing it. You and Ellie head on inside, it's clean so you might find some clothes."

Remembering that Ellie only had on the hospital gown, Melanie shrugged off her jacket and handed it to her through the door, "Here, keep you warm till we get inside," she smiled and Ellie accepted the jacket, "meet you in there," she added to Joel as Ellie shut the door and they made their way to the house.

They heard the sounds of the car in the background and Ellie glanced over her shoulder to see where Joel was heading, "Hard to believe that's the same grumpy asshole I met in Boston," she said slowly, "back then we couldn't stand each other."

"Yeah… Boston changed him," Melanie admitted opening the door and looking around the surprisingly still nice house, clearly no infected were killed in here as it looked like a show room.

"That's why you left?" Ellie asked curiously, "Because him and Tess were…"

"Yes," Melanie interrupted her quickly, not wanting to go over that again, "I left because I didn't like what he was doing with Tess," she started to walk up the stairs "come on, enough about the past, let's see if we can get a change of clothes."

After searching the closets, Melanie was glad to get rid of her blood-stained clothes that she seemed to have had on forever. Leaving Ellie to change in one room, she sat in front of the mirror and took in her appearance.

Since leaving Tommy's, her hair was longer, the bags under her eyes more defined and her face thinner. Not to mention the new battle scars on her body. Sighing, she remembered a time when she would take pride in her appearance and it seemed like so many lifetimes ago. Make-up and hairdressers weren't really easy to come by now.

Standing up she took off her jumper slowly and winced a little at the pain in her side, she was lucky as hell not to have more serious injuries after passing out in the tunnel. A cut on the head was better than broken ribs. Sliding off the jeans, she noticed the cuts and bruises on her legs and traced on large bruise on her thigh, honestly not knowing when she got it.

The three of them had been through a lot.

The door opened and she looked up to see Joel in the doorway, though he quickly shielded her eyes as she stood there in her bra and underwear and she suddenly felt embarrassed. "Damn, sorry," Joel said quickly, turning so he had his back to her, "Ellie said you were in the other room."

"It's okay Joel," Melanie tried not to let her embarrassment show in her voice, "nothing you haven't seen before, right?"

Joel laughed and turned away shaking his head at her comment, "You're right there… but I'll leave you to get changed."

Melanie waited until he had left the room and heard him moving about in the bedroom beside her as he looked for clothes. Smiling a little, she ran a hand through her hair and as she turned to pick up the top she had picked out, she caught the ugly looking cut on her forehead and sighed.

"I do _not_ want to look at this all the time," she muttered, spying a brush on the vanity "call me vain all you want Maria."

Putting her hair into a different pattern, she was glad when the cut was hidden from view and continued to get dressed. As she pulled on her boots, she heard murmurings from the room across from hers and hoped that Ellie and Joel were talking again. She hated this tension between them all.

A knock on the door made her shake her head and she raised an eyebrow as Joel stepped in, "Oh _now_ you knock," she joked and he chuckled quietly.

"Bit late I know, but I'll get used to it," Joel muttered and frowned a little as he looked at her hair, "you changed your style?"

Feeling self-conscious all of a sudden, she nodded and pulled on a cardigan to keep her warm, "Yeah, just fancied a change," she said ignoring his concerned look, "and who knows next time I get to use a brush."

"You don't have to be ashamed of your scars," Joel said simply "it doesn't make you weak."

"I know that," Melanie said softly and sighed, resisting the urge to tuck her hair back behind her ear "but I don't wanna look at it every day."

Joel was quiet before he came over and slowly lifted her chin so she was looking at him, "As long as you're okay," he whispered and pushed her hair back from her face and traced the cut gently, "think you'll get away without it scarring."

"You never liked my hair like this did you?" Melanie asked raising an eyebrow at him "you always preferred the middle parting."

He smiled a little and his eyes flickered over her hair and face, "Hides your eyes when you have it like this," he murmured, "so yeah, I prefer it the old way."

"Such a charmer," Melanie joked and he let go of her chin and stepped back, "Ellie okay?"

Joel nodded but still looked concerned, "She got changed and fell asleep on the bed. Out cold."

"That's good, she'll need some time to accept what happened," Melanie said tiredly, rubbing her eyes "I know I will."

"Do you think I… that I should tell her the truth?" Joel asked quietly, his eyes begging her to tell him what to do, "Is it right that I hide this from her?"

Melanie sat down on the edge of the bed and shrugged, "I honestly don't know… right at this minute? No, I don't think you should tell her and it's for the best that she doesn't know. Maybe in the future but you'll know when the time is right."

"I guess so…" Joel sighed and sat next to her on the bed and stared into space, the lines on his forehead more defined as he frowned to himself.

Leaning over, Melanie nudged his shoulder with her own and gave him a small smile, "Stop doubting yourself," she said quietly, "you've done the impossible to protect Ellie, you're doing a good job. Just don't forget to look after yourself as well."

"You're the boss," Joel chuckled and he nodded thoughtfully, "it'll be better when we get to Tommy's, give her time to really be a kid and not have to live in danger like she has lately."

"I'm looking forward to a shower," Melanie said rubbing her neck with her hand and tried to work out a kink that was aching, "finally get rid of this smell of dirt and blood that's been hanging about me."

"Yeah, you really stink, a shower would be good."

Widening her eyes, Melanie tried not to smile as Joel laughed at her, "And to think I called you a charmer," she said swatting his arm playfully, "asshole."

"Thought women appreciated honesty?" Joel's tone was teasing and Melanie shook her head but made an amused noise.

"Not about all things."

They fell quiet and Melanie felt her eyes closing as she sat next to him on the bed, giving herself a shake, she stood up and smiled at him, "Think I'm gonna call it a night, is there another bedroom?"

"Nah, but I'll sleep downstairs on the couch," Joel said stretching out and nodding at her, "you get some sleep. Gonna be another long drive tomorrow."

Melanie shook her head and grabbed his arm before he turned to leave, "You won't be able to sleep on that tiny couch, just stay here and sleep."

He didn't answer her or move from the spot as she walked around the bed and slipped under the covers, "You want me to sleep with you?" he asked surprised and Melanie arched an eyebrow at him.

"You can relax Joel," she said with a slight teasing tone, "I'm too tired to seduce you tonight. I really mean _sleep_."

He smiled weakly back at her before mimicking her actions and climbing in beside her, "Well that's a weight off of my mind," he replied "I hate it when women throw themselves at me."

"As do all men," Melanie said jokingly and blew out the candle she had lit on the bedside table and lay on her side, enjoying the soft bedding and pillows, "night Joel."

"Good night."

As she lay there in the darkness, Melanie couldn't help but count Joel's breaths and thought back to the winter when he had been barely conscious in that small village. She had been so scared to take her eyes off of him in case he had stopped breathing.

Tensing up, she closed her eyes more tightly and tried not to remember the village and David and the look on Ellie's face as she repeatedly stabbed that son of a bitch. Her nightmares were bad enough without thinking on all the terrible events that had happened.

As if sensing something was wrong, she felt the bed dip slightly as Joel turned on his side and pulled her into him, holding her close, "It's okay…" he whispered as she trembled slightly in his arms, "we're okay… we're okay, Mel."

"We're okay," Melanie repeated with a whisper, her hand entwining with Joel's almost instinctively. With his arms around her and his chest at her back, Melanie felt the safest she had in years and continued to repeat herself as she fell asleep, "we're okay… we're okay…."

**A/N **

Sorry for the long wait! I had literally zero inspiration to write this and didn't want to ruin it by forcing out a chapter, hope you liked it and I can't believe that I'm nearly finished! ~ BSI


	26. Chapter Twenty Five: Home

Ellie sat quietly on the back seat with her legs swinging over the side, the car had ran out of gas and it looked like they were going to have to walk the rest of the way but Melanie assured them that it wasn't far now. She traced the bite mark that she had got so long ago delicately with her fingertips and gave a soft sigh.

Some cure she was.

It was hard to describe how she felt waking up in the back seat of the car and having Joel and Melanie tell her that it had been all for nothing, there had been others like her and the Fireflies had given up on a cure. Guilt, disappointment, anger and a deep sadness were some words to describe it, she supposed.

She knew that there was something that they weren't telling her, it was hard to believe that Marlene would just let her go without saying goodbye to her. Or that she didn't have time to get changed out of that stupid hospital gown into some clothes and these doubts niggled at her constantly.

Looking up at her guardians, she watched as Melanie and Joel discussed something and looked at their surroundings. When she thought back to how awkward they had first been with each other would have made her laugh before, now seeing them so comfortable in each other's presence was nice. It was clear to anyone that there still was a strong bond between them. It would have been hard to forget someone that meant so much to you.

_Riley was my person_.

Blinking back tears, Ellie shook her head and managed to compose herself as Joel turned around and looked at her, "Well, looks like we're walking kid," he said, walking towards the car and getting out his backpack.

"Should just be over that ridge," Melanie smiled coming to stand in front of her, her tone was casual but Ellie seen the concern in her eyes, "we'll be back in time for dinner."

"Alright."

Seeing them share a worried look, Ellie averted her eyes and followed them off the road and into a secluded wood area. There was only the sound of birds singing and the rustling of trees – no runners or bad guys waiting to jump out on them. The idea was strange after all those months of fighting for their lives. It would take a while to get used to living with others and being safe for the most part.

She looked up again and wondered what Joel and Melanie would be like at Tommy's. Would they get back together? Ellie remembered waking up in the house after the Fireflies and seeing them tightly holding each other in their sleep. She hoped this was the case. They seemed right together.

"Actually kinda pretty, ain't it?" Joel said loudly, tearing Ellie away from her thoughts.

Melanie nodded in agreement, "Just proves with a little sun, anywhere looks pretty," she joked and stood waiting while Joel put his boot on the barbed fence and pushed down to make a space for them to crawl through.

"What do you think Ellie?"

_"__Ah, the forced conversation. Their speciality these days"_ Ellie thought before she shrugged, "Yeah, I guess," she answered.

Melanie smiled sadly at her, "C'mon," she said indicating to the space Joel had made, "you go first."

Walking forward, Ellie bent down low and slowly stepped over the fence and began to move through it, "Alright, now watch your head going through," Joel muttered, pulling the other bit of fence up higher to help.

She made it through and nodded at Melanie, "Here, you next. I got it."

Melanie followed suit and she copied Joel's actions on the other side once she was through and they both held it up as he joined them. As he straightened up, Joel winced and rubbed his leg, "Oh… feelin' my age now," he murmured and Melanie arched an eyebrow in response.

"Feeling it as well as showing it, hmm?" she teased, laughing when Joel gave her a gentle push.

The old Ellie would have joined in the teasing but she couldn't… she was still mad at both of them for lying to her about the Fireflies. Keeping her eyes ahead, she almost didn't hear the next part of the conversation.

"This reminds me of the time we all went hiking on my birthday," Melanie said beside her, "I wasn't expecting a pair of hiking boots for my birthday."

Joel chuckled to himself, "Yeah, that was Sarah's idea, your face was a picture," he glanced sideways at Ellie, "Don't think I ever told you but Sarah and I used to take hikes like this, Melanie _sometimes_ joined us."

"Was dragged along more like."

Smiling, Joel then grew a little serious as he watched Ellie's blank expression and looked ahead with a sad look in his eyes, "I think ah… I think the two of you would've been good friends. Think you really woulda liked her. I know she woulda liked you."

That comment meant a lot coming from Joel and Ellie couldn't help but feel a little surprised at him saying it. A reluctant smile crept onto her face as the two adults looked back at her, "I bet I would have," she said finally and Melanie and Joel looked relieved at her comment.

They climbed up some ledges, with Joel lending a helping hand, and walked along the ridge passing a large boulder. Ellie hung back with a question she desperately wanted answered threatening to come out when suddenly Joel let out a low whistle and stopped walking, "Wow, look down there."

"Home, sweet home," Melanie murmured and smiled as she looked down.

Ellie took in the view of what was now home and let out a small sigh: she could sleep easy tonight and eat proper food. Walking along the river, she could see Melanie eagerly taking the lead and seen the excitement on her face as she turned her head and looked at them over her shoulder, "Just a little bit further now!"

"Someone's really looking forward to that shower," Joel said sarcastically, and Melanie stuck out her tongue in reply.

Glancing back, Joel waited for her to catch up while Melanie hopped up on a log and pulled herself up to the next ledge, "Looking forward to a hot meal?" he asked her seriously.

"Who wouldn't be," she tried to keep her tone neutral but it came out all wrong and sounded like sarcastic, "who doesn't like food."

"Not anyone I know anyway," Joel answered, ignoring her tone completely and copying Mel's actions, who was waiting for them patiently, "I'll go up first."

As he pulled himself up, the log shifted and Ellie rolled her eyes: there was no way she was getting up herself now. Seeing this, Joel got on his knees and leaned over the side with his hand extended, "Shit. Here, I got you."

Almost hesitating at first, Ellie jumped and let Joel pull her up towards him. Melanie gave her a small smile as she stood up and wiped the dirt off of her hands on her jeans, "Ready to get moving?" she asked.

Ellie nervously wrung her hands together: she needed to get this off of her chest before they got to Tommy's, "Hey, wait," she said softly and the two adults stopped and looked at her curiously. Knowing she had their full attention, Ellie tried to think of how to start saying what she wanted to say but her mind went blank and she sighed frustratingly, turning on her heel slightly before deciding to just get to the point.

"Back in Boston… back when I was bitten, I wasn't alone," Ellie took a deep breath as memories of Riley came back to her, "my best friends was there. And she got bit too," the words hitched in her throat slightly and she seen Melanie's eyes soften at her words while Joel just frowned slightly, "we didn't know what to do. So… she says 'Let's just wait it out, y'know we can be all poetic and just lose our minds together'… I'm still waiting for my turn."

Joel folded his arms and let out a heavy sigh, "Ellie-"

"Her name was Riley and she was the first to die," Ellie interrupted him, giving him a pleading look to understand why she was feeling like this, "and then it was Tess. And then Sam."

Joel shook his head at her comment while Melanie remained quiet, "None of that is on _you_."

Feeling frustrated, Ellie closed her eyes, "No. You don't understand…"

"I struggled for a long time with survivin'," he said quietly, then indicated to Melanie as well, "we both did. It's hard but…" Joel stopped talking and Ellie seen him gently touch the long broken watch still on his wrist "no matter what, you keep finding _something_ to fight for," Ellie turned away and she heard the sadness in Joel's voice, "now, I know that's not what you want to hear right now, but it's-"

"Swear to me!"

Both Melanie and Joel seemed surprised by her words as she looked at them sadly, "Swear to me that everything that you said about the Fireflies is true. _Both_ of you."

"I swear," Joel's eyes were serious as he met hers and Ellie let out a shaky breath as her gaze turned to Melanie.

"I swear too…" she murmured, her tone sincere and eyes unblinking.

Ellie was quiet before several moments before nodding slowly, "Okay."

* * *

Despite the tense conversation with Ellie before they reached the compound, Melanie could barely keep her excitement contained as they walked through the gates to the compound. Earl and Esther were on watch and the older man happily welcomed them through before hugging Melanie tightly.

"We've all been worried about you girl," he said, looking her over and then glancing at Joel, "good thing you brought her back in one piece or Maria would've kicked your ass boy."

"I don't doubt it," Joel said, letting out a quick exhale of amusement while Ellie smiled at Earl's comment.

Esther came over and gave Joel a sultry smile, "Well, let me be the first to say how glad _I_ am, Melanie here didn't get you harmed," she looked Joel over and Melanie felt a twinge of jealousy at the surprised yet flattered look on Joel's face, "I was hoping to see your face again."

"That's mighty kind of you to say," Joel said with an amused grin.

"Where's Maria and Tommy?" Melanie asked Earl, turning away from Joel and Esther and fighting the urge to slap Joel.

"Think they're outside the armoury. Search party just got back with some supplies."

Without waiting for Joel or Ellie, Melanie quickly hurried through the small town to the bunker where they kept their weapons. After spending nearly every day with Maria, she just realized now how much she actually missed her. She was like a sister to her and now with her and Tommy so close, Melanie wanted nothing more than to see them.

Coming to a stop, Melanie seen a tired and thin looking Maria counting guns and making a note on a piece of paper. Feeling emotional at the sight of her best friend, Melanie made herself walk towards her calmly and tap her on the shoulder.

Maria turned towards her and her eyes widened as they fell on Melanie's face. The two women looked at each other for several heartbeats while the people around them watched carefully for their leader's reaction.

"Told you I'd be back," Melanie said casually, a small smile on her face.

Even though she looked ready to hug her, Maria stayed still and sniffed "You look like shit," she muttered, her eyes flickering over her face.

"Right back atcha," Melanie snorted and shook her head, "some welcome home."

Maria's eyes softened and she took one step forward and hugged Melanie tightly, "I'm glad your home again," she whispered in her ear as the two women embraced each other warmly, "I really am."

Feeling like she was going to cry, Melanie gripped her harder and nodded, "I'm glad too."

Leaning back, Melanie noticed the tears in Maria's eyes and they both laughed as Joel and Ellie came to stand beside them. Putting one hand on her hip, Maria regarded Joel with an amused expression, "Guess I don't have to shoot you in the head now," she said jokingly but then grew serious and gave Joel a quick hug, "thanks for looking after her."

"More like she looked after me," Joel replied but nodded with grin, "but thanks for not reaching for your gun."

"Melanie? Joel?"

Hearing Tommy's voice behind them, Melanie grinned as he hugged her tightly and picked her up off of the ground, "Damn, it's been a long time," he muttered into her hair as he put her back down, "was starting to think you weren't ever coming back."

"I said I'd be back, didn't I?"

Tommy chuckled as he leaned back, "That you did, Arnie," his eyes then landed on his brother as they hugged each other, "good to see you too, big brother. You've aged even more than the last time I seen you."

"You've gotten a few grey hairs yourself," Joel chuckled.

"Welcome back, Ellie," Maria said smiling at the younger girl, "you doin' okay?"

Melanie watched as Ellie glanced between her and Joel before nodding with a tired smile, "Yeah… I'm okay."

Esther came over and gave Joel a big smile as she held up an unopened bottle of whiskey, "I thought you guys might want this," she said laughing a little, "can celebrate _you_ coming back."

Melanie's eyes narrowed at her emphasis on the word 'you' and the pointed look she gave Joel and even worse, Joel didn't seem bothered at all and even gave her a smile. Really, she had no reason to be jealous, it wasn't like she and Joel were together but the very idea of that cleavage showing hussy with her hands all over Joel made her blood boil and she had to force herself to stay calm.

"Well, Esther sure has the right idea," Tommy said clapping his hands together, "you can tell us everything that's happened since you been gone."

"Yeah, I don't wanna miss out on that!"

Melanie rubbed her face tiredly, "How about Joel and Ellie fill you in," she said feigning a yawn, "I'm absolutely beat and could do with a shower and a nap."

"Sure thing 'hun," Maria said but gave her a suspicious look, "I'll drop by with some food," and by that Melanie knew she really meant '_come by and find out what's wrong with you_'.

Joel however didn't seem happy with her answer, "You not coming along?" he asked and Melanie forced a smile.

"Nah, I've been looking forward to this shower for too long," she said trying to sound casual "you guys start without me, I'll be along later when I feel more human."

Esther laughed, "Yeah, no offense 'Mel but you really could use a shower."

Tommy had a maddening smirk on his face as he nodded at her, "Well, we'll all be in my place if you wanna join," he looked at Ellie and Joel "we'll need to figure out where you two are gonna stay."

"They can bunk in with me in the meantime," Esther suggested, "after Doug and Carla shacked up, there's only me in that big old house."

Feeling the urge to punch something, Melanie pushed all her feelings down and kept the fake smile on her face, "Well, I'll see you guys soon. Don't finish all that without me," she said pointing to the whiskey bottle before turning on her heel and heading to the small cabin which was hers.

As she walked away, Melanie felt her heart thudding in her chest with every step. She stayed behind the houses, not wanting to run into anyone just yet with the mood that she was in. No mood wasn't the right word. She had no reason for the jealousy and anger that she had felt.

She was back home, safe and alive. She should be happy about that…

Opening the door, she looked around the small cabin that had been home since she and Tommy had left the Fireflies. Smiling a little, she dropped her backpack on the sofa and went over to the sink and ran the cold water and washed her face. Feeling much better at such a small action, she went through to the bathroom and was so happy when her shower came on and the water slowly got hotter.

No more dipping in and out of a freezing cold bath.

Stripping off quickly, she got under the warm water and closed her eyes in bliss as it washed over her. It had been so long since she had had a hot shower and it was absolutely heaven. She stood for a minute just enjoying the sensation before she grabbed the shampoo and conditioner that she never thought she would use and began to wash her hair.

As Melanie massaged the shampoo into her hair, her thoughts reluctantly drifted to what the others were doing. Esther was no doubt flirting with Joel at every chance she got. Something that she couldn't be angry at, Joel was perfectly free to flirt with anyone he wanted. Just as she was.

But after everything they had been through, Melanie couldn't help but be hurt at the thought.

They had become closer since leaving all those months ago, that night in the house she had not wanted to move from his side. Falling asleep with him had felt so right but in the morning when she woke up to an empty bed, she had wondered if he had regretted it.

Maybe he just wanted to be friends, Melanie wondered, and if that was the case then she should be glad they were friends.

It would be hard but she would have to get used to it.

Rinsing the soap out of her hair, she cleaned every inch of her skin at least twice, taking care not to aggravate her side more and then stepped out of the shower and wrapped a big towel around her. Shivering slightly, she walked into the only bedroom and dried herself off quickly. Pulling on a pair of jeans and a thick jumper, Melanie felt exhausted and gladly fell into bed and laid on her back.

Closing her eyes, she decided in that moment that the ball was in Joel's court. If it seemed like he just wanted to be friends, then she would respect that and try not to let it bother her. But deep down, she knew she could try to convince herself for the rest of her life but there was no denying the truth.

She was in love with Joel… and being friends would never be enough for her.


	27. Epilogue

Joel idly strummed the guitar on his knee as the sun shone down on him, pausing only to take a sip from his beer to cool him down. He glanced up and smiled to himself when he seen Ellie run by with a group of kids, laughing and joking as they raced each other to the kitchens. Must be lunchtime. Catching his eye, Ellie waved quickly as she ran by and he nodded back at her. Living with Tommy had been the best thing for Ellie, she got to be a kid again and not have to kill to survive. Plus she was smiling again and telling bad puns. Joel was thankful for that, however corny her jokes were.

Clearing his throat, he continued to play the song that had been stuck in his head but God only knew what one it was, all he could remember was the tune and not the words. It was beginning to annoy him as well as Earl – who had kindly let him and Ellie move into his cabin until theirs was ready.

Looking up again, his eyes were drawn to his little brother and his wife. Watching them interact as they spoke to the guys who were going out for a supply run. Maria laughed loudly, throwing her head back at something Tommy said while the latter sneaked his hand around her waist and pulled her in close, a tender smile on his face as he looked at her.

Joel couldn't help but be jealous… he had that… and he had lost it.

Or at least he thought he had.

_Melanie_.

Stopping his playing, Joel rested the guitar against his knee and leaned against the porch thinking about the woman who had been plaguing his thoughts ever since he met her. Closing his eyes, he sighed when he thought how she had barely spoken to him since they had got back, except for polite conversation and a feeling of irritation ran through him.

Why did they _both_ have to be so stubborn?

For once, he was willing to be the bigger person and break the silence. A week ago, he had made his way determinedly over to her at dinner one night only to notice that she wasn't sitting alone. _Fuckin' Tony the technician!_ Seeing her smile and laugh at his joke made his blood boil and he had turned on his heel and headed back to his table.

He had often caught her glancing at him, looking like she wanted to say something before her eyes would lower and she would go back to ignoring him.

_"__What a fuckin' mess_," Joel muttered, taking a longer drink of his beer.

"You should really stop talking about yourself like that, big brother."

Chuckling, Joel squinted in the sun to see Tommy standing in front of him. "That jokes gettin' a little old baby brother," he said sarcastically, putting the guitar to one side and looking up at the other man, "you've hardly grown old gracefully either."

"I don't think anyone has," Tommy replied, walking over and taking a seat on the porch next to his brother, "well, except Maria. But that goes without saying."

"Better that you have said it, or else I'd tell her you didn't."

Tommy grinned before glancing somewhere in front of them, "Saying that, Melanie's still lookin' pretty damn good."

At hearing her name, Joel stiffened and tried not to glance over at the woman in question, "Hmm..." he said gruffly.

"You two still not speakin'?" Tommy asked, raising an eyebrow at him and took his moody silence as a yes, "Why don't you just be a man about it and go talk to her?"

Joel sighed, "Just… just stay out of it Tommy," he said quietly "it's complicated alright?"

"Complicated?" Tommy laughed, "More like a high-school drama – she see's Esther flirting with you, you see Tony trying it on with her and the both of you decide to ignore the other."

Frowning, Joel shook his head "I didn't flirt back with Esther," he said heatedly, hating the smirk on Tommy's face, "she was all over me and I…"

"Didn't tell her to back off," Tommy rolled his eyes "and you were so jealous that you didn't notice that Melanie was using her fake laugh and smile with Tony. You two are as bad as each other."

"Piss off."

Tommy laughed a little louder and ran a hand through his shoulder-length brown hair with a few strands of grey, "Admit it… you've had a touch of the green-eyed monster ever since you heard about her and Tony."

"Can't say I have," Joel narrowed his eyes at Tommy, "hell, you slept with her and I'm still civil to you."

"Just barely," Tommy shook her head "you two have been through so much shit… and yet, you find each other again. Go on a helluva journey to get 'Elle to the Fireflies and then fight like hell to get back only to act like a couple of teenagers and get all dramatic over nothing."

"It ain't nothing-!"

"You love her," Tommy cut Joel off and he fell silent, "and she loves you. Hell, she never stopped and I don't think you did either."

Rubbing his face tiredly, Joel shook his head "I didn't wanna…. I didn't wanna put myself out there and have her…."

"Reject you?" Tommy finished his sentence and nodded slowly, "I get that, I really do. But considering the shitty world we live in – you're just wasting precious days without her. Pretty fuckin' stupid in my opinion."

"So tell me, Doctor Tommy," his brother chuckled at the name, "what would you do?"

"Talk to her… tell her how you really feel. Or else you'll be hating yourself for not trying."

Joel was quiet as he mulled over Tommy's words before he smiled "When did you get so good at advice?" he asked jokingly.

"It's all on Maria… and those damn chick books she's always reading," Tommy admitted, leaning back and gazing at the sunset, "I'm ashamed to say I've read a few myself."

They both laughed before falling silent and watching the sunset together, "Don't let her away again Joel," Tommy whispered, "you've been lucky enough to get a second chance – don't waste it."

"I'll think about it, Tommy, I'll think about it."

* * *

Melanie yawned as she shut the door behind her and rubbed her face tiredly, it had been a long day and she was looking forward to sleeping in her bed tonight. She had been on guard duty this morning with Carla and Esther and it had taken all of her willpower to not punch Esther in the face when the subject of Joel came up.

_"__Let's just say ladies, it won't be long until he's moved into my cabin. Not after last night."_

It had been surprising how she had managed a fake laugh and to joke with Carla about Esther's successful 'hunt', usually she would be able to stomach it but just imagining Joel and Esther together made her blood boil and she had the urge to hit something.

Melanie had been so distracted that night at dinner that she hadn't noticed Tony come sit beside her and barely took in anything that he had said, forcing a smile and faking a laugh when it was necessary. It was only as she about to make up an excuse for leaving early that she noticed Joel heading her way.

And then the jealous girl inside took over.

Inching closer to Tony, she had smiled widely at a joke at his that she already had heard him tell and laugh loudly. While he had looked delighted at her reaction, Melanie had seen Joel angrily walk the other way out of the corner of her eye. Instead of feeling smug, she had just felt guilt for making him feel that way.

Sighing, Melanie flopped down onto the armchair and rested her head against the back. She had really became a jealous psycho. Like the women that she and Lucy would judge, that played manipulative games on people to make themselves feel better. Why did Joel have to affect her still after all these years?

Melanie was still deep in thought when she heard a knock at her door and groaned quietly: it was probably Maria or God forbid Esther wanting to dish the dirt on her and Joel. Surely the man upstairs didn't hate her _that_ much?

Reluctantly getting up from her chair, Melanie was surprised to see neither Maria nor Esther standing in front of her but instead it was Joel. "Evenin'," he said in his deep voice that was like chocolate to the ears.

"Anything wrong?" Melanie asked, wondering why on earth he was here this late, "Is Ellie okay?"

Joel shook his head, "Nothing's wrong – Ellie's probably talking Earl's ear off but he doesn't mind luckily. He's patient enough to answer all of her questions."

"So… Ellie's fine and there's nothing wrong?" Melanie raised an eyebrow, "What brings you to my door then?"

"I think we need to talk," Joel said simply and walked inside without waiting for an invite.

Melanie was taken aback but rolled her eyes, "Come on in," she said sarcastically.

She closed the door and watched as he slowly looked around her cabin and then sat in the armchair opposite the one that she had just vacated. Suddenly feeling uncomfortable, Melanie wrapped her cardigan around her tighter before sitting back down in her chair. "What do you want to talk about?"

"I'm not…. I can't do…" Joel sighed exasperatedly as he tried to find the right words "is there anything going on between you and the technician?"

It took a moment before Melanie realized what Joel had said to her, "The technician?" she frowned slightly, "Are you talking about Tony?"

Joel merely grunted in reply.

Melanie felt her eyebrows rise, "This is what you wanted to talk about?" she asked, stunned.

"_Just_… answer the damn question."

She frowned at him, feeling annoyed at him demanding answers to stupid questions from her, "For Christ's Sake! This again?"

"A simple yes or no will do."

"Why are you bringing this up again?"

"So there _is_ something going on?"

Throwing her hands up, Melanie made a small noise of annoyance "No! There is nothing going on with Tony and I!" she snapped, too angry to notice the relief in Joel's eyes, "We slept together once, years ago and nothing else has happened. Happy now?"

"A little, yeah," Joel said honestly and Melanie felt her brow furrow more as she seen the look on his face, "and just to let you know… nothing's happened between me and Esther. So no need to be jealous."

"I wasn't jealous," Melanie said quickly, eyes narrowing at Joel "and that isn't what Esther is saying. You two are practically star crossed lovers in her version of things."

Joel leaned back in the chair, "She came around one night with a bottle of scotch and a promise of a night of wild sex," Melanie felt like he had slapped her "but I turned her down and shut the door. I guess she doesn't deal well with rejection."

"Hmm, well, who doesn't," Melanie replied, trying not to show how happy she was at hearing Joel and Esther hadn't slept together, "it isn't the nicest emotion to feel, you know."

"Oh I know that, it's the fear of feeling it that stopped me from having this conversation with you sooner."

Melanie froze on the spot and knew her eyes had widened with shock, "What?" she said quietly, replaying his words over in her head.

Joel's eyes softened as they flickered over her face "I'm just gonna say what I want to say," he said honestly "when I came here with Ellie, and seen you after all those year, it was like I had been drowning and finally came up for air. And after going through what we did… I don't wanna feel like I'm drowning again," Melanie let out a shaky breath as Joel leaned forward and looked at her seriously "I love you Melanie… and I don't want anyone else, no matter how much wild sex they offer me, I only want you."

For the first time, Melanie was honestly lost for words…

After all these days of trying not to think about him, to just see him as a friend, Melanie suddenly didn't know how to respond to his words. As if he guessed how she was feeling, Joel stood up and offered her a sad smile.

"I just wanted you to know that," he said softly, "when you make a decision on how you feel, come find me… I'm not going anywhere."

It felt like the air had been punched out of her as Joel kissed her forehead gently before letting himself out of the cabin. Melanie didn't know how long she had been sitting there before she covered her mouth and felt the tears in her eyes as she realized what had just happened.

_He loves me_.

She smiled to herself and let out a shaky laugh to herself, wiping her eyes quickly "He loves me…" Melanie whispered, standing up she pinched herself quickly and laughed even louder when she didn't wake up, "it isn't a dream… he really said that," she murmured and felt a giddiness she hadn't felt in a long time.

Glancing at her watch, she seen it was just coming up for midnight and cursed herself for sitting in here like a stupid idiot while Joel was probably sitting at Earl's thinking that she didn't feel the same. Grabbing her coat, she quickly put it on and hoped that the rain would stay off as she slipped out of the door.

* * *

It had been an hour…. No, an hour and a half now and yet still no sign of her.

Joel sighed and ran a hand through his greying hair, maybe she really didn't feel the same and he had just made a massive arse of himself in front of her. He was just about to call it a night and head inside when he heard the door open and seen Ellie come out wearing her pyjamas, her hair tousled from sleep.

"Why are you still up?" she asked, yawning.

"You should be in bed," Joel muttered, leaning back on the bench and ignoring her question, "it's late."

Ellie caught sight of his guitar and smiled slightly, "Hey, you're finally playing it," she said picking it up and coming over to sit next to him, "I knew you would. C'mon, play me something!"

"I ain't playing the guitar, Ellie," Joel said impatiently, giving her a frown, "get back to bed."

"Not until you play me a song."

Sighing, Joel knew she would be true to her word and stay up until he played a song. "Alright, alright. One song and you go back to bed, deal?"

"Deal!" Ellie said excitedly, sitting with her feet under her as she watched him take the guitar and start playing, her eyes watched his fingers carefully and she smiled as the gentle strumming's filled the air. Finishing the song, Joel wished he could remember the damn words as she played the final chords. When he had stopped playing, he was surprised at the look that Ellie was giving him.

"She's gonna show up," Ellie said quietly, smiling at him, "Melanie would be an idiot to give you up. She'll be here."

Joel didn't even bother asking how she knew that he was waiting for Melanie, it was a talent of hers knowing where there was drama. "Here's hoping, kid," he said tiredly, glancing out into the dark compound and feeling down heartened when he didn't see anyone approaching.

"Keep playing," Ellie said, getting up from the seat and stretching "it will help make the setting more romantic and work in your favour."

Raising an eyebrow, Joel shook his head "I'm not even gonna ask how you know that."

"Tommy's not the only one who's read those books," Ellie said laughing slightly, "but I don't want to hear you complaining, with my help, you'll definitely get the girl. We're a team remember?"

"I remember," Joel said affectionately, "I'll see you in the morning, kiddo."

"You can start teaching me to play tomorrow then," Ellie said, giving him one more smile over her shoulder before she opened the door, "can play cupid to other people besides you."

He chuckled at her words and waited till it was quiet again before he picked up the guitar again, "Well, she's hardly been wrong before," he whispered as he began the song again. He was lost in his playing that he didn't hear the footsteps indicating that someone was walking towards him.

"Doing alright there, Elvis?"

Joel looked up and stopped his playing to see Melanie standing on the first step of the porch watching him play. "Elvis? What are you talking about?" he asked, trying to ignore how his heartbeat had increased as soon as he had seen her.

"_But I can't help…. Falling in love…. With you_," Melanie sang quietly, a small smile on her face as she quirked an eyebrow at him, "considering our early conversation, it's a bit of a corny song choice."

"That's what I've been playing?" Joel chuckled to himself, wondering how he had forgotten _that_ song, "Yeah, it's a bit corny now that I think about it."

Melanie folded her arms and leaned against the wooden railing, "Surprised you had forgotten the words," she said, her smile teasing now "you were so good at singing it on karaoke."

"So… what brings you to my door then?" Joel asked, repeating her earlier words and Melanie blushed a little – knowing it was her turn to put her heart on the line.

"I'll be honest… you really threw me by what you said earlier," Melanie said quietly, running a hand nervously through her hair, "I thought, at the most, we'd be friends. That being… a _couple_ just wasn't in the cards for us and I stupidly thought you were moving on with Esther," she looked over the wall where she knew there was clickers and runners stumbling in the darkness, forever on the hunt for more people and to ruin more lives, "I mean, this world is so fucked up it seems silly to think about anything other than surviving and yet…"

She stopped talking and met Joel's eyes, he was gazing at her with a small frown and when he didn't say anything else, Melanie sighed and forced herself to say what she wanted to say. What she should have said months ago…

"I've done the drama… the heartache and been on the emotional merry-go-round, feeling like I was drowning in the loneliness," Melanie's tone was sincere and she bit her lip nervously as Joel's gaze grew more intense as he slowly got up to stand in front of her, "I'm… I'm ready to just _stand still_ with someone, you know? Be happy and live out the rest of my days, however many that is, with someone who wants to be still with me and… and let someone _in_. Let someone love me again."

Joel's face remained emotionless but there was a hopeful glint in his eyes, "You ain't messing with me, are you?" he asked slowly, hoping that this wasn't the case, "you mean it?"

"I mean it," Melanie's voice shook a little before she smiled at him, "I love you Joel… it's always been you."

As soon as the words left her mouth, Joel threw caution to the wind and tilted her head upwards and bent down to press his lips against hers. It felt like forever since he had kissed her and he slid his hands around her waist to pull her tighter against him. Feeling Melanie smile against his lips and he felt the happiness surge through him as he deepened the kiss.

Melanie let out a happy giggle as Joel's grip tightened and he lifted her slightly and he put her hands on his shoulders to steady herself. There were no words to describe the happiness that flooded through her as they kissed in the moonlight, she had almost given up of this happening and was determined to never lose Joel again. This time would be different, their situation was different but how they felt about each other wasn't different… in this moment, this could have been their first date when he had knocked on her door and shared their first kiss, when they got back together after her miscarriage or when he had carried her over the threshold on the day she moved in. It was love.

"Hey! Keep it clean!" they heard Ellie's voice above them and broke the kiss to look upwards "Though I gotta say, about fuckin' time!"

"Hey! Language!"

"Just keep it down on the lovemaking, people need to sleep!" Ellie added cheekily, winking at them before shutting her window and closing the curtains.

Melanie rolled her eyes as Joel lowered her back down but kept his arms around her, "Well, this was one hell of a corny and cheesy reunion," she said, sliding her arms around his neck "but I gotta admit… I loved every second of it."

Joel's grin was wide as he kissed her again, making Melanie feel weak at the knees, "I aim to please ma'am," he whispered against her lips before kissing her one last time, "life's too short and I've already had to live without you once, I'm not doing it again. I'm going to make each day count."

"I hear you."

They shared a tender moment just looking at each other and enjoying each other's presence before Melanie entwined her fingers through his and gave him a loving smile, "I don't know about you, but I feel so damn tired, how about we go catch up on some sleep?"

"Well, we'd better go back to yours," Joel chuckled and indicated to Earl's cabin, "I've been sleeping on the couch ever since we got back here."

Pulling on his hand slightly, Melanie smiled as they began to walk back to her cabin "Probably for the best to get some privacy," she said raising an eyebrow at him, "don't think I'll be able to keep my hands off you."

"Now that sounds interesting," Joel said amusedly, raising his own eyebrows as Melanie laughed as he pulled her in closer to his body. This time it was gonna work, she decided, this time, she was going to get a bit of happiness in this world.

No more drama… no more heartache.

Just her, Joel and Ellie. Facing whatever problems this shitty world threw at them: one day at a time.


End file.
